The Legend of Link
by Sora Moto
Summary: Prince Link was told from a young age that he was the destined hero that would protect Hyrule from evil. Zelda is a farm girl whose older brother went off to serve in the castle and train alongside the hero prince and help him fight the forces of evil. Only things turn out to not be that simple.
1. Chapter 1

And I'm back with a new story/project that I hope you will all enjoy.

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The king was pacing in the reception area of his rooms. Loud screams and grunts interspersed with quieter voices giving instruction could be heard from the other side of the bedroom door. His anxiety was understandable, his wife was giving birth to his first child, a child that would have a great destiny if the Sheikah seer was to be trusted. She was of course, her loyalty to the royal family was unquestioned.

Suddenly there is a higher pitched cry from the bedroom where the midwives were helping his wife and queen to give birth. It was the distinct cry of an infant, strong and healthy before being soothed by one of the midwives.

The king stops his pacing and stands facing the door for the news on whether his child was the Princess of Destiny or the Hero of Legend. It was a long few minutes to wait before the door opens and the eldest midwife steps into the reception room. The king straightens his shoulders, his tense posture becoming even more so.

"My king, I am happy to tell you that your son is healthy and your wife is resting."

"My son?" The king's face splits into a wide grin. "I have a son!"

The midwife smiles back at the joyous king and nods. "Yes, do you have a name decided on."

"Link, he is destined to be the Hero of Legend and his name will be Link."

Miles away in a small town at the edge of the kingdom another mother is going through an ordeal similar to the queen's. The town's midwife crouches in front of her while her husband holds her hand and her young son waits nervously by the door to their house.

With a scream the mother pushes one final time and the midwife is backing up a small bloody bundle in her hands. While the woman's husband wipes the sweat from her brow with a cool cloth, the midwife takes the new baby to a tub of water that the young boy had made sure stayed warm during the long hours his mother was in labor. She begins to wipe the babe with a cloth, cleaning the gore from her mouth and nose before patting her on the back and forcing the child to wail.

"Congratulations, she's a healthy baby girl." The midwife finishes wiping the infant clean before wrapping her in a small warm blanket to hand her to her father. "There's still a bit of mess to push out, but it shouldn't be as difficult. Now push for me just a bit more."

The mother nods and does as she is instructed. It isn't long before the rest is out and the father passes his daughter to her mother. "What should we name her?"

"Zelda."

The parents smile down at their baby girl before the mother looks up at her son still in the doorway. "Colin, come, meet your little sister."

The boy is cautious in his approach, a look of awe on his face as he looks down at the tiny little being in his mother's arms. His father sets a hand on his shoulder, drawing him in close for a small hug.

"You're a big brother now Colin, it's your job as her big brother to keep her safe and protect her."

Colin looks up at his father and nods, his awed look turning to one of determination.

"I'll keep her safe Father, you can count on me."


	2. Chapter 2

A young girl, of maybe eight, is reaching out toward the end of a branch in a tree. Golden hair is tied up in a high ponytail and there are sticks and leaves stuck in the fabric of her purple dress. Just beyond the stretch of her fingers is a small orange tabby mewling pitifully and clinging to the same branch.

"Come on Nugget, just a little further, I'll help you get down. Just a bit further."

The girl manages to inch out just a small bit further and finally her fingers reach the kitten, brushing the fur gently.

"There we go."

"Zelda!"

The girl turns her head, causing her blond hair to shift around her shoulders. An older boy is standing beneath her, worry etched on his face as he stares up at the girl and cat.

"I've almost got Nugget."

"Nugget? Zelda, get down from there before you get hurt."

Zelda huffs and moves out just a bit further on the branch as the boy's eyes widen in fear. She manages to get her hand fully into the kitten, scratching it behind it's ears to calm it down.

"There we go." Zelda just manages to grip the kitten by its scruff and pull it toward her when there is the distinct snap of wood and then Zelda is falling toward the ground below.

The boy cries out and rushes forward to get beneath the smaller girl who is curling around the kitten even as she is falling. When the dust settles the boy is splayed on the ground beneath the girl and cat.

"Owww."

The cat hisses and scrambles away, bolting for the barn across the yard.

"Zelda." The boy wheezes as he pushes up to knock the girl off him.

"Eheh, thanks for catching me Colin."

Zelda looks to her brother with a sheepish smile while the older boy glares at her.

"You're always so reckless. What were you thinking climbing that tree? What if I hadn't caught you?"

Zelda grins at her brother and clasps her hands behind her back, "But you did. So, everything's fine."

Her brother growls at her and jumps to his feet. "That's not the point!" He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. "You know that I'm going to be reporting to Castletown next week. I'm not going to be here to catch you if you fall next time. You have to be more careful."

Zelda toes at the ground, head bowed. "I know, I'm sorry Colin."

Colin pats her on the head and manages a small smile. "Come on, let's go get our chores done."

Zelda follows along behind her brother, "Why do you have to go to Castletown anyway?"

Colin grin over his shoulder at his curious sister. "Well the king has called for anyone over the age of thirteen that wishes to help the prince in his destiny to destroy evil to come to the palace. I may not be able to be a knight, but I'm hoping I can become a guard or even a soldier."

"I'm sure you'll be the best! You'll be a knight for sure!" Zelda grins widely at her brother and he smiles back at her.

"Alright, whatever you say little sister. Come on we do still have chores to do."

A young boy with bright blonde hair is sitting in a large ornate room. He is dressed in a green tunic edged in silver thread with light brown britches and dark brown boots. Circling his head is a band of silver with a golden triforce embossed in the center. Bright blue eyes look down at his lap where a large ornate sword is sheathed in blue and gold.

He was only eight, yet his father, the king had given him this sword, still far too large for him to even think of wielding, and told him that one day he would use it to fight back evil and keep peace in Hyrule. It was his destiny.

The boy's shoulders slump heavily as he studies the blade. As much as his father had encouraged him to draw it and learn it, the boy knew it was not his place to do so.

Destiny was such a great burden.

"Prince Link?"

The boy looks up from the sword in his lap to see his attendant, a young man dressed in silver armor. His father had assigned him to replace Link's nanny when he began his training with a sword.

"It's time for your lessons."

Link nods, setting aside the large blade, leaning it gently against the couch he was sitting on. "I will be out shortly." The young man nods to his prince and steps outside while Link gathers his equipment for training. He walks past his breakfast things to grab his archery equipment. Archery was always first thing in the morning, followed by history, languages and strategy during and after lunch. The afternoon would be spent practicing his swordsmanship until it was time to prepare for dinner with his father and mother.

With his things in hand, the prince goes for the door to begin his day.

"Good My Lord, your accuracy is coming along well, we may be able to move you up to a higher draw weight sooner than expected."

Link's instructor makes his way over to the target that the young prince had been shooting into, pulling out the arrows that were clustered near the bullseye. Archery was something the young prince enjoyed, he found it very soothing and he was glad he began each day this way. His instructor had been surprised at how natural archery was to him and had been happy to help him build up his muscles so he could draw the bow and loose arrows as well as any knight in training. He was well on his way to being the best archer in Hyrule, and once he was older his instructor planned to encourage the king to hold archery tournaments to show off the prince's skills.

The instructor places the arrows back into the cache by Link and the boy pulls one out and draws his bow once more. Taking aim, he lets loose the arrow and watches as it sinks into the outer edge of the bullseye. He quickly goes through the rest of the arrows before his attendant steps over from where he had been watching.

"Prince, I believe it is time for your next lessons and lunch."

"Thank you, Ryan." Link takes the time to unstring his bow and stow it away in the armory next to a small rack that holds his weapons. A small sword and shield hang beside the bow with a cache of short arrows. His father had made sure that his son trained using only the best and had each item custom made. He knew that as he grew in strength and stature these small weapons would make way for larger ones until he was fully grown.

Making his way out he is soon leading his attendant toward the study where he would take his lunch while studying to lead the kingdom. This may have been his favorite time of day. He was surrounded by books and knowledge and he very much enjoyed just being able to read or take notes while his instructor answered questions or lectured.

"Ah, there you are Little Prince. Are you prepared for your lessons?"

Link nods and smiles at the elderly man his father had hired to teach him history and languages. He was also very good at chess and the two would often play while they ate their lunch.

"I hope you are ready for a challenge today Sir. I found a book in the library the other day with new techniques and strategies and I have been studying it the last few evenings before bed."

"Ahah! A challenge, I look forward to it." The elderly instructor leads Link over to a table with a chess board already set up and a small spread of dried meats, fruits, and cheeses. Link settles into one of the two seats while the instructor took the other.

"Agh, ya got me!" Colin is splayed on the ground with a stick tucked under his arm, gagging as if dying and going limp.

Zelda stands over him, arms crossed over her gut as she laughs from her brother's bad acting. After a few moments of laying still on the ground Colin sits up, laughing as well.

"So, what do you want to play next Zelda?"

"Zelda, Colin. It's time for dinner."

"Race ya!" Zelda takes off toward the house, Colin scrabbling behind her once he gets to his feet. Even with his longer legs his sister beats him to the house due to her head start. Both are laughing as they wash their hands with the water pump outside before going in.

"Have you two been having fun?"

"Yes, Mama." They chorus.

"All washed up?"

They show their mother their hands, still damp from the when they washed them.

"Good. Please set the table, your father should be in soon."

The two hurry off to grab the place settings for dinner, setting them up before Colin goes and helps their mother bring out the food.

Just as the last item is being set on the table their father comes in through the door. He looks a bit worn from a hard day's work, but smiles kindly at his family around the dining table waiting for him. Walking over he pulls his wife in close and kisses her on each cheek, her forehead, and last her lips. The last one causes Zelda to cringe and let out a sound of disgust while her brother just chuckles.

"It looks wonderful my dear, and smells even better."

She bats at him and backs out of his arms with a broad grin on her face. "Did you wash up Dorin?"

Dorin studies his hands for a moment before shrugging sheepishly and making his way outside to wash his hands in the pump outside.

"Sit down you two, we'll dish up when your father comes back in."

The three all settle into their seats around the table, soon joined by Dorin, now with clean hands. It isn't long before everyone has taken their share of the food.

"Thadeus has agreed to help out around the farm."

"That's wonderful. Is that what had you away so long earlier today?"

Dorin nods as he takes a bite of his meal. Colin bows his head frowning into his plate.

"Hey now son, there's no need for that. We're all proud of you. Going off to the castle like this. It's not often that us farmers get an opportunity like this."

"I know dad, I still feel bad about leaving you to do all the work by yourself."

Dorin chuckles and pats his son on his shoulder. "Colin, we are proud of you and your cousin will be helping me out around here. You don't need to worry so much about us, we'll make by. You just focus on the training you're going to receive. I have every confidence in you to become one of Hyrule's knights and serve with the prince in keeping us all safe."

Colin looks up and gives his father a shaky smile, not nearly as certain as his father in his own abilities.

Link was sat at a long table with his mother and father as servants set plates in front of each of them.

"I heard your studies have been going well Link."

"Yes Father, I am doing rather well. Edwin believes I may be able to try a heavier bow soon."

"Ah, that is excellent news." The king sends a warm smile to his son. "Now, I do need to bring up a bit of business with you my boy. I know you are aware that I have sent out a request for young men to come here and begin training with you as your honor guard. My hope is that you will find a group you can work well with so that when the time comes you do not have to face battle on your own."

Link nods, agreeing with his father. When he had first heard the idea he had requested that his father open the enrollment for his honor guard to all citizens in Hyrule. His father had agreed but imposed an age limit. Only those over thirteen would be allowed to begin their training with his son.

"From what I understand we have received responses from across the kingdom and the young men should begin to arrive later this week." The king's face turns serious as he continues. "Now, since these will be your compatriots Link I would like for you to move into the barracks. Close proximity should help to build camaraderie. These men will need to trust you and you them. I have already set aside barracks for these young men and yourself. You will be taking your meals with them and getting to know them both day and night. You will of course still have your lessons with Fenick and the others will be joining you for them. They will need to see that you are capable of leading them and I also want to be sure they are educated as well."

"Of course Father, I understand." Link notices his mother worrying her lip at the thought of her boy living a soldier's life and he tries to send her a reassuring smile. "It's alright Mother, I want to be strong so I can protect everyone."

His mother seems to relax at his words and his father lets out a hearty chuckle.

"That's my boy. Whatever evil threatens us in the future, it had best reconsider for our son has the courage of the world in his heart."


	3. Chapter 3

Zelda was clinging to her brother as their father checked over the saddlebags on his horse.

"You better not forget to write to me." She looks up at him with serious eyes.

"Of course I will." He squeezes her around her shoulders before stepping away and heading over to the horse his father had just finished checking over.

"Are you ready?" The older man lays a hand on his son's shoulder.

"Yes."

"Make us proud son." Colin nods and his father pulls him into a quick hug.

His mother steps up and pulls him into a longer hug, patting down his brown hair. "Oh, I'm going to miss you. I packed your favorites for your trip, they should last you until you reach Castletown." She pushes him back, hands on his shoulders as she looks him in the eyes. "Oh, we're so proud of you already."

Colin gives a shaky smile to his mother, goodbyes were always hard and he would be gone for many years to train and depending on how quickly he learns he may become either a knight, soldier or a guard at the town.

With one last round of hugs to his family Colin is mounting the grey mare his father had given him to take to Castletown. Nudging the horse, it begins to walk down the road, leaving his family behind him. He looks back over his shoulder one last time and sees Zelda standing in the road waving to him as he goes. Her bright smile cheering him on as he goes off on what she sees as some grand adventure.

His stomach still twists in knots at the thought of what lies ahead of him, but knowing she is cheering him on helps to settle his nerves. For a boy of thirteen the road ahead was new and exciting, but Colin wasn't going to fool himself into thinking everything would be as perfect as his sister seemed to think it would be. He knew she thought of him as a great hero already and that this was just another adventure for him to conquer. So, he would do what he could to show her that her faith in him was not misplaced.

Link had moved into the wing of the barracks his father had set aside for himself and the new recruits that he would be training with. The room was small, much smaller than his room in the castle, but he still managed to have a small shelf for books. So far there were only a few of the new recruits that had arrived, but Link felt that something important would happen today. He had woken that morning from a strange dream, he had trouble remembering it, but he knew it had to mean something. The only thing that really stood out was the Triforce glowing on the back of someone's left hand, the bottom right triangle glowing brighter than the rest.

He thinks on it as he dresses for the day, pulling on the green tunic and his leather affects. He knew that symbol represented the Triforce of courage and marks the Hero. Would one of the boys or young men coming today be the one that wore it? Or perhaps they were connected to the person that did. He would have to see who was left handed, a rare trait in Hyrule, and go from there.

Prepared for the day Link heads out to the training yard to meet up with the others for their morning archery practice. With the new recruits joining him, Link's routine had been changed to help the others learn more and to widen the prince's own skills. The morning still began with archery and then they would practice horsemanship. Those that did not arrive with their own horses had been given permission to borrow the horses of some of the knights in exchange for taking care of them. After horsemanship came lunch and lessons in history and languages. Strategy had been combined with swordsmanship later in the afternoon. They were then given one hour to themselves before dinner. This was when they could meet anyone that had arrived during the day while they were training.

Link's arrival at the training yard is met by quick bows from the sons of nobles that had come to join him. The others that were from other walks of life followed suit in a jerkier fashion, not used to such formalities. Link had tried to tell them that bowing wasn't necessary, but the nobles' sons had insisted that it wouldn't be proper any other way. The rest just followed their example.

The day went by quickly and when the afternoon was ending and they were given time to themselves many of the boys made their way to the knights dining yard over by the stables. This was where the new arrivals would usually be waiting for them. Those that came from noble households usually already knew each other and mostly spent time with themselves. They made attempts to have Link join them in hopes of making friends with the prince.

Link did his best to not play favorites with the nobles' sons.

Today then was not that different than previous days. Except for the fact that Link very much wanted to meet anyone new that had arrived. Scanning the area, he spots a brown-haired boy nervously fidgeting with a satchel on his lap. He was dressed in cream tunic with blue and red trim. He had to have been the youngest boy to arrive, perhaps thirteen or fourteen years old. The prince looks around one last time and sees that there are no other new arrivals before making his way over to this new boy.

"Hello."

The boy looks up with round green eyes, his fingers stilling in their fidgeting. "Hello."

"Did you just arrive this afternoon?"

The boy nods, "My name's Colin, I'm from Lontown."

"Really, you came quite a distance then."

Colin nods, back to fidgeting with his bag. "Yes." Link catches the boy glancing at him nervously from time to time.

"Are you liking Castletown so far?"

"Yes." Colin nods before glancing once more at the prince. "Um, I don't mean to be rude, but I thought that only those over thirteen could sign up."

Link smiles with a quiet chuckle. "It's alright. I haven't introduced myself." Link holds out his hand to take Colin's. "I'm Link."

Link is surprised at Colin jerking back from the hand shake. "Your highness!" Colin's nervousness seems to increase tenfold at learning how casual he had been with the prince. "I'm sorry, I've been so rude. I just, I only just arrived and I'm sorry I didn't recognize you. It's just I thought the prince, I mean you, would be older. I just, I'm sorry, I'm rambling and you don't look that much older than my sister."

Link holds up a hand to stop Colin as his words gush out, a smile on his face. "No, please, it's quite alright." Colin manages to stop his explosion of words and is now staring at his lap, picking once more at the threads of his satchel. "I really don't mind. We're going to be working together. We shouldn't need to be so formal."

Colin looks up at the prince, shock clear on his face. "Oh, um thank you then. I'm sorry, I'm still nervous from having travelled here. This is the furthest I've ever been from home, and I just, I'm sure my sister wouldn't be acting like this."

"Your sister?" Link is curious, this was the only new arrival today and he had checked that he wasn't left handed when they shook hands earlier.

"Yes, she's fearless. Always climbing trees and picking fights with anyone that tries to push her around." Talking about his sister has Colin relaxing slightly, the tense posture of his shoulders easing out. "I'm sure if she had been old enough she would have tried to sign up to train as well."

"What's her name?"

Colin smiles, "Its Zelda."

It takes Link a moment but that name sounds familiar, like something from a dream. He gives a thoughtful nod of his head as he smiles back at Colin. "Maybe I can meet her one day."

 _Zelda, I arrived in Castletown yesterday and was quickly ushered to the castle barracks. They've given us an entire building, though only a few of the rooms are currently occupied. I also met the prince. Even though I didn't recognize him when we first met, I thought he was just another trainee. I was so shocked when he introduced himself and nervous also, I didn't want to offend him. He was really nice though, maybe if you can talk dad into letting you visit when you're older I can introduce you. Oh, it also turns out that my room is right next to his. I was surprised he was staying in the barracks with the rest of us, but he told me it's so he can get to know us better. It makes me feel better to know he is such a kind person, truly deserving of being a legendary hero one day. I started training today, it was hard, but I managed. The prince was with us while we went through our training and lessons, he's much better than I am, but he's been training longer, I hope one day I can match him. There are all kinds of people that have come to help the prince, some of the nobles have sent their sons, they seem to be as good as the prince, but they are older and had a similar training routine before all of this. There are also merchants' sons and others from farms like ours. Apparently, not everyone was able to bring a horse with them and some are borrowing horses from the knights in exchange for mucking out their stables and caring for the horses. I hope you are doing well and staying out of trouble. Send my love to Mom and Dad and let them know I am doing well. I will try to send a letter each week. Love, Colin._

Zelda reads over her brother's letter several more times while lying in the hay loft of their barn. She was wearing her purple dress, but had pulled on an old pair of Colin's pants that he had outgrown ages ago. Her mother had not been amused when she learned that Zelda had made off with them, having planned to give them to her cousins, but her father had just laughed and said it would be fine for her to have a pair of pants under her dress.

One of the cows lows and Zelda is reminded she is supposed to be milking them. With a groan of annoyance, she sits up with a few pieces of hay sticking in her hair, almost blending in, and heads back down to finish her chores.

The letter she was reading had arrived that morning as she was heading out to the barn, as it was addressed to her the man delivering it had handed it right over and been on his way. Excited to see how Colin was doing in Castletown she had run straight up to the loft before opening and reading it. It was now tucked safely into her belt pouch alongside a slingshot she had made herself and a few pebbles that were perfect for shooting the annoying boys in the village that thought a girl couldn't fight for herself.

Grabbing the milk pail, she sets it under one of the cows and then grabs the stool before getting to work on milking it. While she did she thought about how Colin had met the prince. It was exciting, she wondered if one day their father would let her go to Castletown. She could visit Colin and he could introduce her to the prince.

She pauses in her milking to frown. It was too bad she couldn't go and train to be a knight like Colin. It wasn't just that she was too young, but she was a girl and everyone told her that girls didn't take up the sword. That didn't stop her from sneaking of when her chores were done to make pretend that she could one day be a knight or even a hero!

Another few minutes of milking and the squirts from the cow's udder were getting thinner. Stopping in her work she stretches out her fingers before standing up and grabbing the pail. She needed to empty this into the storage container so it could be bottled later, then she just had to milk the other one. Then it was time to collect eggs from the cuccos and feed them before mucking out the stables with Thaddeus.

"One day I'm going to go on a grand adventure and travel all over Hyrule."


	4. Chapter 4

Colin was celebrating his seventeenth birthday in his room in the barracks. Earlier that evening he had gone into Castltown and bought a small cake for himself. Now he was sitting on his bed humming a birthday song his sister had come up with years ago and forced everyone to sing for everyone's birthdays. Sitting beside him is a small brown package that had arrived earlier that week from his sister with a message to not open it until his birthday.

It had been almost 4 years since he had come to Castletown to begin his training. Since then he had made several friends, one of whom was the prince himself. During their training, many of the young men that had joined had been reassigned as they failed to live up to the standards required to be in the prince's honor guard. Colin was one of two that had come into this training with no previous skills to rely on, most of the others were nobles and the sons of knights who had been training from a young age. It was something he was proud to have accomplished.

A knock at his door draws his attention from his thoughts.

"I heard someone is having a birthday today." Standing in the door to Colin's room is the prince, smiling and holding a small package in his hands.

"Link! How did you find out?"

The prince waves off the question and steps in, holding out the package to his friend. The prince was still young, just having turned twelve a few weeks ago. It had been a large celebration with all of them getting the day off from training in honor of their prince's birthday.

"You know me. I always have a way of finding these things out."

Colin finally takes the package and looks it over. "Thank you. You didn't need to get me anything."

Link shrugs and moves to sit beside Colin on his bed. "Maybe not, but you are my friend and I felt I should get you something. You're seventeen now, right?"

Colin nods and looks between the present the prince had given him and the one from his sister.

"Go on, open the one from your sister first. I'm curious to know what she got you."

Colin chuckles and sets the prince's gift to the side before picking up the one from Zelda. Taking care, he tears the brown paper and opens the box to find it full of red fabric. Curious he pulls it out and realizes it's a red cloak meant to be affixed to his armor. It takes him a moment before he notices the Triforce carefully stitched into the red fabric in yellow thread.

"Wow, that's really nice. Did she make that for you herself?" Link is admiring the cloak when Colin bursts out laughing at the prince's question.

"No, I really doubt she made this herself. She likely bothered our aunt or our mother to make it for her. If she had made it the stitches would be all over the place."

Link smiles at his friend's good humor. "Still it was rather nice of her to have it made for you, especially since you are now seventeen and your knighting ceremony is just around the corner."

Colin smiles at that, calming his laughter. "Yeah, I can't believe that after so little time."

"You earned it Colin. You worked hard and this is the result."

Colin nods. Then with a grin he sets the cloak aside and picks up the other package. "I guess I should open this one up next."

Link laughs at that and nods. Colin opens this one as easily as he had the first. Inside the box is a plaque with a crest on it containing the Triforce over a crossed bundle of wheat and a sword. It was a noble crest, but not one that Colin recognized.

At his friend's confused expression Link points to the crest. "You're going to be knighted next month with the others that will be joining my honor guard. As such you will become a noble. I commissioned this crest for you."

Colin's gaze whips up to match eyes with prince, who is smiling softly at him. "Your Highness I don't know what to say except thank you."

"You're welcome." The two smile for a bit longer, just sitting in companionable silence before Colin stands and looks around his room. Next to the door he spots a hook he had noticed in other knights' rooms where they had hung their crests and there he hangs his. The look of pride on his face tells the prince that he made a good choice in gift for his friend.

 _Zelda, Thank you for the cloak, and also thank whoever made it for me as well. I know you couldn't have done it so well on your own. It will come in handy when I am knighted next month. I wish you, Mom, and Dad could come for the ceremony, but understand that time away is not something you can afford. The Prince gave me something on my birthday as well. He commissioned a crest be designed for me, he says that once I am knighted I will become a noble and having my own crest is part of that. He also let slip that he has commissioned a sword and shield with the same crest on them for me to carry in my knighting ceremony. I feel he's done too much and is spoiling me, but he says that's what friends are for. I'm glad you liked your gift as well and I'm sorry that mother didn't seem to find it funny that I sent you a sword and shield, even if they were just made of wood. Send my love to Mom and Dad, I miss you all. Love, Colin._

Zelda laughs as she reads the letter from Colin, it may have been a bit insulting for him to automatically assume she hadn't made that cloak on her own. He wasn't wrong, he just shouldn't have assumed. She was even getting better at keeping her stitches straight. She looks down in the bottom corner of the letter and sees a crude drawing of a crest, it must be the one that the prince had designed for him.

Thinking about Colin's upcoming knighting ceremony she wishes she could go to Castletown for it. Colin had mentioned that all of those that had come to train with the prince were going to be knighted in a large ceremony. He had told them there would be a festival in the town during the day and then following the ceremony the king was going to hold a ball. As much as she hated wearing dresses, she could manage one for one evening if she was going to be at a ball with her brother.

She giggles and rolls back and forth on the hay of the stall she was hiding in to avoid her chores, causing the foal that was attempting a nap to whinny at her and bite at her dress sleeve. She pats the little horse on the nose to sooth it.

If only she were old enough to travel on her own. She was twelve now, but her father insisted that she was not old enough to travel so far on her own. It was frustrating.

"Zelda, I know you are in here, come out. I need you to run over to Ezlo's shop and pick something up for me."

Letting out a tortured huff Zelda sits up and exits the stall she had hidden in. "What do you need me to pick up?"

"I asked him to make a new plow blade. You'll need the hand cart to bring it back."

Zelda sticks her tongue out at the thought of having to haul a heavy plow blade home, but makes no other protest.

"Come on now, I would like you the be back in time to help me attach it to the plow."

"Alright Dad." She jogs out past her father and grabs the cart from its place outside the barn. Grabbing the two handles she picks it up and begins walking toward the blacksmith's shop to pick up her father's plow blade.

It doesn't take her long to reach the shop and Ezlo helps her to load it onto the cart. Once it is loaded she begins the trip home, only to be stopped by a black-haired boy several years older than her and nearly a foot taller.

"Hey there Zelda, what has you out and about today?"

"Hello Francis." Her voice is dry but the boy doesn't seem to notice. "I'm just picking something up for my father." She motions to the cart and its contents.

"Oh! Isn't that a bit heavy for you all on your own. Here let me help." The older boy has soon imposed himself between the two handles squeezing up against Zelda in the process.

Grunting indignantly Zelda steps out from between him and the other handle and turns on him, hands on her hips. "I'm perfectly capable of pulling the cart on my own."

"Ah, come on, it will go faster if we work together."

Zelda narrows her eyes at the other before grabbing the handle from the outside. "Fine, it will work best if we each take one handle then."

With a smile the boy moves to the outside of the other handle and lifts it with ease before Zelda begins pulling on her side.

"So, I heard your brother is being knighted. Everyone's really excited about it. They're planning to have a big celebration for your family to honor the occasion."

"I heard. It sounds like it should be a lot of fun."

"I was wondering if I could escort you during it?"

Zelda stops in her tracks at the question, causing Francis to stop and turn to her, a worried look on his face. "Is everything alright Zelda?"

"You want to escort me?"

Francis rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "Well yeah. I mean my dad was going to talk to yours today about us. I mean nothing would be decided on right now, but in a few years when we're older,"

Zelda jerks the cart from Francis' hands and begins walking away, pulling it behind her.

"Zelda?" Francis jogs to catch up with the swift pace she is setting. "I know you're a bit of a tomboy, but you had to know that eventually. I mean your family's one of the best off in the village, and your brother's about to become a knight, one of the prince's honor guard at that."

"I don't care. I just," They come into the yard near the barn where earlier that day Zelda had been reading her brother's newest letter. Dropping the cart, she turns to the frantic boy beside her. "I'm sorry, but please leave."

"Zelda?"

The girl turns to see her father coming out of the barn.

"I can't believe you would do something like that!" Her father is taken aback at being yelled at by his daughter, looking to Francis in hopes of an explanation as Zelda runs off.

88888888888888888888

Ok, before anyone goes off about the courting thing I bring up in this. Please be aware that for the time period I always imagine the LoZ stories take place in this is actually somewhat normal. She's 12, meaning that she'll most likely be expected to marry in 2-4 years. As the daughter of one of the more influential families in the village anyone whose son marries her will gain a measure of wealth from association. Her father has probably had to deal with several potential suitors before this point, the fact that Zelda is only just now learning of them means her father probably knows better than to let his headstrong daughter know that people have been asking about their sons courting her.

That being said, she is a headstrong young woman that doesn't care about marriage and her family is in a position where they can turn down offers until Zelda actually finds someone she likes. Eh, I probably could have given a better explanation than all of this, but I just needed to clarify a few things. Please leave a review and I'll see you tomorrow with another update.


	5. Chapter 5

The sound of wood meeting wood fills the clearing with a hollow thunking as Zelda stands before a tall tree, striking it repeatedly with a wooden sword. On her face is a deep scowl as she seems to be taking her anger out on the tree in front of her. After several more strikes she pauses and wipes her brow with the sleeve of her purple tunic. Her blonde hair sways from the high ponytail on her head, brushing her shoulders and back.

"Stupid boys. Stupid men. Stupid Mom!" She lifts her wooden sword once more and strikes at the tree for each group. "Why couldn't she just let me keep on like I've been doing. No, I have to at least give those idiots a chance." She lets out a growl and lunges at the tree with the pretend weapon. "How many times do I have to tell them I'm not interested? Why can't I just live my life the way I want?" With one last swing Zelda spins, slashing across the front of the tree that had become her opponent, stopping when her back is to it and letting herself fall backwards against it. She soon crouches down, her tunic riding up behind her against the rough bark. She lays the wooden sword she had gotten years ago from her brother on her knees. It was dented and scratched from years of being used to take her anger at the world out against the helpless wood of whatever tree she decided deserved it that day.

Letting her head fall back with a thump against the tree she looks up into the canopy, sunlight dappling through the thick leaves. "Maybe I should run away to Castletown, I could live with Colin and maybe train as a knight."

"Zelda?"

She looks up at hearing her father call her name. He steps into the clearing and joins her on the ground, back against the same tree she was using.

He speaks up at her questioning look. "I heard the violence stop." He looks up as she had been earlier. "You know your mother means well."

"I know." Zelda toes at the ground with her boot. "I just wish she'd talked to me before making a decision like that."

"I know. I talked to her about it and she's going to tell Brians that it was a misunderstanding."

Zelda's shoulders slump at her father's words. "I'm sorry, I know I'm being difficult. I just don't like any of the boys in the village. All of them only want one thing and it's not me, not really!"

Dorin looks at his daughter, knowing she isn't wrong, as much as it pains him. They had the largest farm in the village and everyone in town knew that Colin would not be coming back to take ownership, he had his duty as a knight of Hyrule and companion to the prince and hero. Which meant the farm would one day be Zelda's and by extension, whoever she married. It meant that no matter how much Zelda screamed or kicked at the young men they kept coming back for more while talking about how much of a shrew she was behind her back.

"I also talked to your mother about something else that I hope will cheer you up."

Zelda looks over at him out of the side of her eye.

"We both agree that perhaps you just need a change of scenery."

Zelda turns more to fully face her father, eyes widening and mouth dropping open in disbelief. "You mean it, you're not just telling me this so I'll give one of those boys a chance?"

Dorin manages a chuckle as his daughter is now practically bouncing on her knees, having turned fully and braced herself on her hands.

"No, while that would make your mother happy. I managed to convince her that perhaps the young men here just aren't to your liking. It will take a few days to get everything together but you should be able to head off to Castletown by the end of the week. We'll write your brother so he knows to expect you.

The high-pitched squeal that comes from Zelda as she launches herself at her father to tackle him in a hug has him laughing along with his happy daughter.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

He pats her on the back as she begins to calm down and eventually the two are sitting back up, facing one another.

"Now, I know you may not want to hear this part, but please, for your mother's sake, at least try to find someone you can relate to while you visit your brother."

Despite the smile still on her face, Zelda narrows her eyes in a hint of disgust. "Alright, fine. If I have to."

"That's my girl." He pats her shoulder and smiles as he stands up, then holds out a hand for his daughter to take. "Come on, let's head back to the house. Your mother is waiting."

Colin smiles at the parchment in his hand.

"Oh, what's this, another letter from home?"

He looks up and sees Prince Link in the doorway of his room.

"Yes. It seems my sister had a fight with my mother regarding her suitors."

Link raises an eyebrow, confused. "That's not usually something you smile about."

"True, but in this case Mom has agreed to let Zelda come for a visit in hopes that she will either grow fonder of one of the boys back home or find a young man in the town that meets her expectations."

"Ah, how clever of her. So, I finally get to meet this sister of yours then?"

"Of course, My Lord, I wouldn't dream of keeping her away from you." Colin chuckles at the eyeroll his response receives.

"So, when can we expect her?"

"She should be here in about a week."

Colin had looked back to the letter when trying to figure out how long he had to prepare for his sister's arrival. When he doesn't get an immediate response from his prince he looks back up and catches a look of apprehension cross his face. It was brief, and he almost brushed it off as nothing, but something in his gut tells him that he shouldn't.

"Is everything alright Link?"

"Hmm? Of course. What makes you think something is wrong?"

Colin frowns, there it was again, that troubled look. "Link, I'm your friend. I might even go so far as to say your best friend." Colin holds up a hand to stall his prince when he opens his mouth to interrupt. "You didn't have a crest commissioned for Graus when we were being knighted. I also know I'm the only one that is bold enough to speak to you with such familiarity. I know you Link, so please tell me what is on your mind that has you so apprehensive.

Link let's a kind smile spread on his face as he shakes his head at his friend. "It's complicated, but I suppose if you were able to pick up on my concerns then it won't hurt to share them with you." Link taps the blue hilt of the Master Sword that he carries on his hip. "Being the Hero of Legend is a heavy burden, one which I fear I am not ready to bare. However, I am troubled of late and I fear that regardless of my preparedness that a darkness will come over this land in the near future."

"Link?"

The prince shakes his head, "There is not much more we can do at this time." He looks to the side then back to Colin. "Have you heard about my father's request for the people to help us in seeking out the Princess of Destiny?"

Still concerned for his friend and the burdens placed on him Colin nods in response to the question asked of him. "I am, he has sent out word that any young women of age should either come to Castletown or their local temple to be tested for the power of the Princess." Colin frowns. "Is this why you are worried about not being prepared, My Lord?"

The prince hesitates before answering, "In part."

"Is there more to it than that?"

Link heaves a sigh, eyes closing as he gathers his thoughts. "My father did not make it public, so please do not repeat this to anyone, but he wishes for me to marry the Princess. Her background is not going to be taken into consideration. My father feels that her status in the legend is enough proof of her nobility."

Colin's face reflects his sympathy for Link's situation. It was very similar to his sister's. "I am sorry to hear that. I hope that whoever it is can be as good a friend to you as I have been."

Link manages a small smile and nod, a sly look coming to his eyes. "I'm not actually that concerned with it actually. You've heard the legends, haven't you?"

Colin thinks for a moment, then nods. "Of course." He chuckles a bit as he thinks about them. "The Hero of Legend and the Princess of Destiny are meant to be soulmates, bound by fate and destiny. I'm sorry Link, I should have remembered." Link joins in with his friend's laughter. "I'm sure you must be nervous to meet her then. How long do you think the search for her will take?"

Link shakes his head. "I'm not sure, but I feel the two of us will meet sooner rather than later." Link pats Colin on the shoulder and turns to exit his room. "I must be going. I look forward to meeting your sister when she arrives."

"Are you sure you don't want your cousin Thadeus to travel with you?"

"Mom, I'll be fine. I'll be sure to stay on the roads during the day and stop at inns during the night. Its only three days to Castletown and there have been no reports of bandits on the road. I can take care of myself."

Zelda sits in the saddle of her horse, a roan mare with a cream mane and tail.

"Besides Epona here won't let anyone get close enough to be a problem. Isn't that right girl?" Zelda leans forward to pat the site of her horse's neck, eliciting a nicker from the creature in response.

Beside her on the ground her mother is wringing her hands in worry. Her father had finished checking her saddlebags just a few minutes ago and was standing patiently beside his fretting wife.

"I know, I just, I'm worried. It's dangerous out there, especially for a girl on her own. Anything could happen."

Zelda resists the urge to roll her eyes as her father wraps an arm around her mother's shoulders to comfort her.

"Dear, Zelda is strong and brave girl and she knows how to handle herself. She'll be fine."

Her mother nods, still fretting, but having calmed down some. "You'll write to us when you reach Castletown and your brother, won't you?"

"Of course, I'll send a letter right away so you know that I made it safely."

With a stress sigh, she reaches up and holds her daughter's hand in lieu of a hug. It lasts for a while before she lets go and Zelda nudges Epona forward and down the road. With a glance over her shoulder she waves back at her parents before kicking her horse into a canter. She was finally going on an adventure of her own.

Link was pacing in his room in the barracks. His dreams the last several nights had been plagued with visions of darkness sweeping over the land. He knew that time was running out to find the true Hero. Despite what everyone, including his father, thought the sword at his side could not be removed from its sheath by himself. He had lead them all on to believe that it would only be able to be drawn when the time was right. Not entirely a lie, but they still believed he would be the one to draw it.

He clutches the journal in his hands. He had been researching the past heroes and how they fought against the evil that came upon the land in their eras. He knew the evil would need to be sealed and that their best hope was that the hero could be found and would overcome the challenges needed to release the sealing power they needed.

Another concern he had was that he would not be in a position to help the hero himself. He had taken precautions and if he was right in who the hero was everything would work out in their favor. If things went wrong though, he looks down at the journal in his hands. He had written out instructions in this journal in hopes that Colin would be able to get it to the hero.

Knowing that time could be short he leaves his room and makes his way over to the stables. It is late and the courtyards around the barracks are empty of people, evening the dining area where he and the knights would take their meals was free of anyone that might see their prince on his late-night visit to the stables. Once there he heads for the stall in which Colin keeps his horse and tucks the journal into one of his saddle bags. If all else fails this may be their final hope.


	6. Chapter 6

Link was currently in a meeting with his father regarding the state of things in the kingdom. The Current discussion is in regards to road maintenance between Castletown and the town and villages of Hyrule.

"We've received reports that heavy rains near Kakriko have washed out sections of the road leading up to the village from the southern road. The bridge at the base of the mountain has also taken damage and risks collapse if not repaired soon."

The king strokes his beard in thought as he listens to the report. "Make sure they have the funds to repair the road and bridge. We can't afford to have any town or village inaccessible at this time. If the Evil were to show itself in any one of them we would need to be able to swiftly deploy the Prince and his guard to protect the citizens."

"Agreed Sire. I will see to it that the appropriate funds are provided for the repairs."

Link stays silent during the report and his father's order; his attention is on the map spread between them all on the table around which they are meeting. Beside him is Colin, standing at attention. Link had asked Colin to attend meetings with him for the last week and the two were rarely seen apart. Most people thought the prince must be training Colin as a second in command, Link had not objected to these rumors.

The door slams open with a bang and one of the guardsmen rushes in.

"Sire! From the South, a large force of monsters has appeared. They are being led by a large man with red hair."

"What! Seal the Southern gate and evacuate the city through the North. Concentrate our forces there to make sure everyone makes it out safely. Have the city guards go with the citizens to protect them from any of the enemy forces that think to go around the city."

The guard bows and runs out to execute the order. "Yes, Sire."

The king now turns to Link. "Gather your force and be prepared to face this man." He brings a hand up to rest on Link's shoulder. "I have every confidence in you My Son." Link nods and rests his hand atop his father's on his shoulder. After several moments, the king removes his hand and turns to the advisors the meeting was being held with. "Prepare my armor and sword. I will meet this man first and the prince and his force will follow after. Evacuate the castle of all none combatants, I won't have any of our citizens getting caught up in this if I can avoid it."

As the king continues to give out orders, Link and Colin make their way down to the barracks to prepare themselves. Colin watches the prince, his face showing no emotion. This was it then, the moment they had been training for.

"Has your sister arrived yet?"

Colin shakes his head. "No, I was expecting her closer to nightfall. I hope she will come across those evacuating the city and turn back for home."

Colin notices the prince frowning.

"I know she can be reckless, but I doubt she would try to come to the city while it is under siege, My Prince."

"I know, still make sure your horse is saddled, mine as well. If we need to flee,"

"Link?" Link stops and turns to his friend and companion, worry is clear in his eyes and the prince knows he should explain, but time is of the essence right now and they cannot waste the time.

"I will explain later, when we have more time. Right now, go to the stables and have the horses saddled and readied in case we need them."

Colin gives a quick bow before hurrying off to the stables to make sure the horses are readied to go. Link continues on his way to his room to put on his armor and have the others prepare as well.

The evacuation of the citizens had finished just as the monsters' forces had reached the southern gate. There the soldiers and knights, under the king's direction, attempt to stop them. Link and his knights had been ordered to hold the castle and were currently watching from the throne room as the Southern gate explodes and the enemy forces pour in.

"We should be out there, helping them. They're being slaughtered."

"The king told us to hold the castle." Link looks up as Colin scolds the other knight that had complained about staying back.

A thud on the door to the throne room halts any further conversation and draws the attention of all the knights to the door. Many draw their swords and take up defensive stances as a second thud shudders against the door. Colin stands protectively in front of his prince. With on last thundering strike the doors swing open and a large figure is revealed.

His hair is as red as flames and his dark skin highlights his golden eyes. Glowing on his right hand is a symbol all of them recognize as the Triforce, though the top triangle seems to be brighter than the rest. His mouth is parted in a sinister grin as he surveys the force before him.

"Pitiful, is this all the defense they can grant you Princess." The man's eyes move across those present until they land on Link. "Well this is different." The man seems to grow somewhat confused, but his attention is drawn to the knights once more as several of them lunge at him in an attempt to catch him with his guard down. He draws a large sword from his side and swings to block their attacks.

Colin turns to his prince during this. "Sire, you must draw your sword." The prince is clutching the Master Sword in his hands, a determined look in his eyes.

"I can't."

"Sire?"

"I'm not the hero Colin. I cannot pull this blade."

Colin gives his prince a look of absolute disbelief. How could the prince not be the hero? How long has he known?

His thoughts are interrupted as the prince holds the blade out to Colin. "Take this sword and flee. You must find the true hero and get this blade to them. I am trusting you, please."

Colin hesitates, the sounds of the battle raging behind him as the knights buy them time. "I don't understand, why entrust this to me? How will I even know the hero when I find him?"

"Colin, I may not be the hero, but I do play a part in this, I'm just not a princess. You will know the hero, I have known since we met that you would be able to lead me to the hero and through you this world could be saved by them. You will know them by their left hand, now please take this blade and leave."

Eventually he takes the blade, still unsure.

"We will buy you time to get away. You must hurry. Once you have found the hero take them to the shrines to gather the power of the sages so that this evil can be sealed. There is a journal with information in your saddle bags. Now go!" Link points to a rear door of the throne room that leads out by the barracks and the stables before turning to face the fight.

Colin's feet feel like lead weights as he takes several steps towards the exit. He does not look back as he hears his fellows cry out as they fight for their prince. A bright golden light is suddenly shining behind him and he picks up his pace. The Princess of Destiny was said to have been gifted in magic to hold the darkness at bay while the hero quested to seal it.

Soon he is bolting through the castle corridors until he reaches the stables. He grabs his horse and mounts as quickly as he can, kicking the stead into a gallop as he spots the monsters approaching the gates of the castle. He will need to get through the city and out the nearest gate, the West gate, and then from there he would need to begin his search for the hero.

As he pushes his horse to jump over the monsters and the destruction they are causing he remembers that his sister would be coming from the West, would any of the evacuees have gone this way, would she know the castle was under attack? Spurring his horse onward he makes it through the gate and into the field beyond.

The last knight is knocked to the floor in a bloody heap as the evil man approaches the prince. "I really must admit, this is not what I was expecting. The Princess, wielder of the Triforce of Wisdom, not a princess this time though." He gets right up into Link's face, sneering at him. "A prince this time instead. I wonder, that knight you sent off, is he the true hero. Have they all thought you to be the hero this whole time? Fools. Your knight will not escape me, my forces will find him and stop him before he can awaken his power. I will destroy him and take what is mine. As for you." A crystal shaped barrier forms around the prince as he stands tall against the evil one's gaze. "I will just have to figure out what I should do with you."

Despite his strong stance, it is clear the prince is nervous. At the mercy of a madman bent on control of the kingdom, mad with power, he had every right to be. His prayers to the Goddesses to help Colin and the hero on their quest echoes in his mind. Be safe Hero. Please hurry.

Zelda has brought Epona to a stop as she spots on the horizon the walls of Castletown. Smoke is billowing from the city and she stares in stunned silence at the implications.

"Colin." Her voice is quiet, but the thought that her brother was fighting as the city was clearly under attack had her kicking Epona into a gallop toward the burning city. She may not be able to do much, but she could help get people to safety.

As she bolts down the road, up ahead she spots a figure on a horse being pursued by three monsters on steads of their own. One of them manages to get in front of the rider's horse causing it to rear back and throw its rider. Zelda, determined to help, rides up and stops between the downed rider and the monster. Epona rears back herself, her hooves pawing at the creature and striking it from its mount. As soon as Epona is back on all four hooves Zelda dismounts to check the rider.

"Colin!"

"Zelda!" Colin looks stunned from his fall as he spots his sister standing over him. A blue sword had fallen from his grip when he was thrown and Zelda reaches for it on instinct, knowing the monster were surrounding them now.

Colin is dizzy and holds a hand to his head where it had struck the ground during his fall. He sees his sister pick up the Master Sword and face the creatures that were chasing him. He tries to stop her, she can't pull that sword, she'll die. Everything seems to slow down as he watches Zelda grasp the sheath in one hand and the hilt in the other, he had never noticed she was left handed before now, and pulls. The master Sword slides free of its sheath and Zelda is quick to swing it at the first monster that comes at her. The sword slices through it and she turns to the second and third in quick succession, each falling to the ground before dissolving into dust. All he can do is stare.

"Colin, are you alright? What are you doing here? What's going on at the castle?"

She's already sheathed the sword and is now kneeling beside him, concern etched onto her face as she gets no response from him.

He grabs her wrist as she moves to reach for him. "We have to get out of here now." He stands quickly and pulls her to her feet as well. "Mount your horse, we can't dally. More of them will be on us shortly."

"Colin?"

"I will explain later, right now we must hurry." Colin tries to think of someplace they can go, someplace safe. He looks to the North, then to the South. Finally, he looks East. Kakariko is in the East and the prince had told him once it was the home of the Shiekah, a tribe who had pledged eons ago to serve the Hero and the royal family. "We need to get to Kakariko, we can find shelter there until we are ready to move on."

Once they are both mounted they kick their horses into a gallop and veer North, off the road. They would need to go North first to avoid the monsters before cutting back South to approach the village. Colin looks back and sees that the Master Sword is already slung across Zelda's back. He looks forward again. She would need training and equipment. When they stopped to rest the horses, he would have to explain all of this to her. She was his little sister and he would have to guide her as she fought against monsters and a darkness that had plagued the land of Hyrule since time immemorial.

His parents were going to kill him.


	7. Chapter 7

The pair came to a stop in the shadow of Death Mountain. It was later in the day than Colin was honestly comfortable with, but they needed to rest the horses. Looking to the East he tries to get an idea of how far they are from Kakariko when Zelda huffs beside him.

"Why are we running away? What about your duty to fight beside the Legendary Hero and help him save Hyrule?"

Colin really didn't want to answer those questions, he felt like enough of a coward when his prince ordered him to leave the castle. "And what about you, why were you going as fast as you could toward the castle and danger? You could have gotten yourself hurt or worse."

"I was going to help get people out."

Colin stares at his sister, standing there with her hands on her hips and determination in her eyes. This was the hero he had sworn to serve and protect, this was his precious little sister that looked up to him as a great hero even though he hadn't done anything yet. In those eyes, he also so a confused girl whose big brother was not behaving the way he should and it had to have her questioning everything.

"I wasn't running away."

"Then what were you doing? You're supposed to be fighting with the prince."

"He sent me out to find someone."

Zelda looks contemplative as she thinks about what that means. "You mean the Princess of Destiny?"

Colin shakes his head. "No. Funny thing about that is, it's actually the Prince of Destiny this time."

Zelda's mouth hangs open as she hears this, not sure how to really respond. Colin waits for the next question he knows is coming.

"So, he sent you to find the hero?" Zelda is beginning to look giddy at the thought of her brother's quest. "You have to let me help, you have to. How are you going to know who it is? Did he tell you who it was already, or what would mark them? This is so exciting."

"Zelda, please calm down." Colin crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow as his sister tries to contain herself. Once she has herself under control he continues. "Yes, I was sent to find the hero. As for how I am going to know who the hero is, they will be the only person that can draw the Master Sword from its sheath."

Zelda clasps her hands in front of her and looks up at her brother with a pleading expression on her face. "The Master Sword! You have it! Where is it? Can I see it? Can I touch it?"

Colin gives his sister a soft smile at her eagerness, she had always been so excited to hear about anything regarding the hero. It had led him to writing about the prince in many of his letters to her, just so she could feel like she knew him. That soft smile slowly turns into a stiff frown when he realizes he has to answer her questions about the sword, his eyes darting to the hilt peaking over her shoulder.

"Is something wrong Colin? I'm not, I'm not causing you problems, am I?"

Sighing Colin rubs the bridge of his nose. "No, that's not it at all Zelda. I just, I wasn't expecting to find the hero so quickly." He can see her confused expression overtaking the eager one from before and continues quickly. "The Master Sword is the one you picked up after I was knocked from my horse Zelda. You drew it and were able to use it. That means you're the Legendary Hero."

As excited as Zelda may have been for adventure, Colin wasn't sure how she would take learning she was the hero everyone needed. He watches as her face goes from one of caution when she thought she had upset him to one of apprehension.

"I can't be the hero. I'm just a farm girl. I don't know anything about how to use a sword. Colin,"

Colin looks down at his sister and his stance relaxes, with a single step his moves forward and pulls her into a gentle hug, rubbing her back. "I know, it seems so far-fetched, but it's the truth." He pauses to gather his words. "It's a heavy burden to bare, but you won't be alone Zelda. I will be at your side, I will guide you and teach you everything I can. Understand?"

She nods her head and pulls back from him; the apprehension having left her face. He was glad to see she hadn't cried.

"Alright, we need to get moving again. We need to get to Kakariko, it's the safest place to train and prepare."

"Alright, let's go." A look of determination was on her face now as she heads over to Epona and her brother's horse. She glances back in the direction of the castle, pillars of black smoke marking it's location. Trapped in there somewhere was the prince, being held by the leader of the enemy forces, at least that's what she told herself. The alternative was something she didn't want to think about.

Colin had already mounted his horse and was waiting for Zelda to do the same. As soon as she was back on her horse the two take off, both keeping a wary eye out for any potential enemies

Ganondorf sits on the throne of Hyrule, the prince still trapped in a barrier crystal beside him. He needs to find the hero before he can gather his strength to defeat him.

"That knight you sent scurrying away as I arrived. You sent him away with the Master Sword, did you not?" The prince remains silent in his prison, arms crossed and eyes trained on the evil king. "The monsters I sent after him have not returned. Was he the hero you wait for to rescue you?" Ganondorf smirks at his captive. "Are you truly so certain he will return to save you and all of Hyrule?" The prince remains silent, his expression unchanging. Ganondorf slams his fist into the arm of the throne, cracking the stone. "Answer me!" The prince says nothing. "You are testing my patience, boy."

Still he says nothing. In truth Link is hiding his own smirks at Ganondorf behavior. He had taken the time during his studies to read as much as he could about all of the previous heroes and their behaviors. It was something he had tried to use in order to complete the illusion that everyone had of him. One thing he remembered sticking out was the rumor that the Legendary Hero had his voice stolen by the Goddess Hylia so he could never take back his vow to fight evil in the land of Hyrule. Link, of course, felt this was ridiculous, but he could see how being silent could certainly get on one's nerves.

Link's train of thought is interrupted when the crystal prison he is in shakes violently and suddenly. He stumbles, a worried frown crossing his face as he looks up into the enraged face of his captor.

"You may have given yourself his face in this lifetime, Princess, but I still have you here and now. Your hero stands no chance against my forces. Even as we speak my soldiers are searching Hyrule for him and they will find him. Once they do I will make you watch as I slowly strangle the life from him."

Link is left kneeling in the crystal prison as Ganondorf gloats on his victory. He looks out one of the windows in the throne room and sends another prayer to the Goddesses. Please let Colin have found the hero, please let them both be safe.


	8. Chapter 8

Colin and Zelda make their way into Kakariko late in the night and are met at the gate by one of the town guards that had evacuated with the townspeople to make sure they made it to safety.

"I hope you've come with good news." He looks hopeful at seeing one of the knights from the castle.

Colin shakes his head. "I'm sorry, the castle has been lost. I've come to see Impa with an important message from the prince."

The guard shifts uneasily before nodding. "I see. So, he is still fighting?"

Colin hesitates, the guard is hopeful that their prince, their hero, is still fighting this evil with the other knights in the castle. He can't crush that hope. "Yes. Now please, I must speak with Impa immediately."

"Yes, of course. Impa is in the largest house to the back of the village."

"Thank you."

AS they lead their horses away from the gate and into the village Colin hears the guard turn to the other, that hadn't spoken, "He must have been sent to find the Princess of Destiny, the prince will need her help to seal the evil away."

The rest is lost as they enter the crowded village. People from Castletown are in the process of setting up tents and temporary structures with the help of the villagers. Barns, sheds and spare rooms had all been offered to the refugees from Castletown. They eventually are forced to dismount their horses and leave them at a stable that was already filled to capacity with animals that had been brought with the refugees.

It takes them several minutes to reach the house to the back of the village that had been indicated as impa's. The house was the largest in the village and seemed to have several tents constructed in the yard surrounding it. A young man with white hair seems to be helping the townspeople to settle in, passing out blankets and other necessities.

Colin recognizes him and lifts his hand to draw his attention. "Sheik!"

The young man turns to reveal deep red eyes that widen at seeing Colin. "Colin! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the prince's side?"

Sheik has approached them in the time it took for his questions to cross his lips.

"I was told to search someone out. Is your grandmother available?"

Sheik glances at Zelda over Colin's shoulder before he nods. "She's meeting with the other elders right now to discuss the situation and to make sure we have the supplies we need to care for the large number that have shown up. If you're on a mission from the prince though she will see you right away."

"Thank you, Sheik. We left our horses at the stable, could you please see that they are taken care of."

"Certainly."

As Colin leads Zelda up to the door of Impa's house Sheik makes his way through the crowd to the stables to see to their horses.

"We should send a force to investigate what is going on at the castle. We need information before we can gather our forces to counter this attack."

"And by then it may be too late. The prince needs our aid now.

Colin opens the door to the discussion going on inside. They all stop as he steps in, eyes turned to him.

"I need to speak with Impa regarding the prince and the state of Castletown." The other elders whisper amongst each other, not standing to leave.

"I believe that this should be a private conversation. We will meet again in the morning to discuss further what we can and will do regarding this matter." Impa's dismissal prods the others into standing and filing out of the door as Colin steps aside with Zelda beside him. Once the last of them is out and Colin has closed the door the elder Sheikah studies them both before speaking.

"You are one of the prince's knights, sworn to aid the hero in his quest to seal away the evil that plagues this land."

Colin nods. "I am Colin of Lontown. This is my sister Zelda, she was on her way to visit me when the attack happened."

"I see, and why is it you are here and not at the prince's side?"

Colin studies Impa for a long moment, judging how much she may already know and what he needs to tell her.

"Are you aware that the prince is not the hero?"

The response he gets is a raised eyebrow. "I am aware. As you also seem to be aware, I am to assume that he sent you to find the true hero?"

"I have been tasked with such."

Impa nods her chin at the Master Sword visible over Zelda's shoulder. "And your sister has drawn the Master Sword from its sheath, has she not?"

Zelda reaches back to touch the hilt of the sword on her back.

"She has."

"I see. She will need equipment, and the both of you will need supplies. You are welcome to stay the night here, but I am afraid that with so many people taking refuge in the village it is not a safe place for the hero to learn how to be the hero." Impa stands and leads the two to a staircase that goes up to the second floor of the house. "Come, I had wondered at why the prince asked that I have the hero's equipment sized for a woman."

Colin frowns. "I wish he had told me sooner."

"He couldn't have been sure Colin. I'm sure he suspected, but that doesn't mean he was certain."

Colin looks at his sister as they climb the stairs. After she had learned she was the hero she had been so apprehensive of her fate, but it seemed that she had accepted her calling and was no longer apprehensive. He admires her courage in this and hopes that some of it may rub off on him.

Impa leads them to a room at the top of the stairs, opening the door and motioning them in. Inside are two beds and a display mount with a dark violet tunic over a chainmail shirt, a matching long pointed hat, and a shield emblazoned with the Hylian royal crest on sliver, blue, red, and gold.

"These should provide you with better protection than what you have now." She nods at the cabinet behind the display. "There is a cloak, gauntlets, and a quiver and bow in there."

"A bow?" Zelda shuffles her feet before heading over to look in the cabinet at the items Impa mentioned.

"I'll teach you how to use it."

Zelda sends him a grin as she picks up the bow and inspects it. She had helped their father with hunting back home, though hadn't said anything to her mother or to Colin. This bow, she could tell, was a heavier weight than the one they had at home, but it couldn't be that much harder than hunting rabbits.

"Thank you."

"The two of you may use this room, I will send someone with dinner for you and also have Sheik bring your things."

"Thank you Impa. We appreciate the help."

"Rest, I will see you in the morning before you depart."

Colin nods and Impa leaves the two in the room.

"Are you really that upset that the prince didn't tell you he thought I might be the hero?"

Colin looks up at his sister and sees her tugging at the sleeve of the tunic. In turn he takes a seat on the bed furthest from the display.

"I don't know. On the one hand, he was pretty excited to meet you." Bringing that up has him remembering how the Hero and Princess were soulmates and suddenly he has some understanding of why the prince may not have said anything.

"But on the other hand?"

Heaving a heavy sigh, he looks up at his little sister, she was just sixteen and it was obvious. "On the other hand, it would have been nice to have some heads up that any of this could happen. He told me literally as the doors were busted down."

Any further conversation is interrupted by a knock on the door. "I have your saddlebags. Grandmother said you were staying here."

"Sheik, come in." Sheik opens the door with two saddlebags slung over his shoulders that he sets at the foot of Colin's bed, his eyes straying to Zelda by the display for the Hero's armor.

"How much did Impa tell you?"

"Hmm?" Sheik shifts his gaze from Zelda to Colin. "Uh, she just said you were on a quest for the prince and that your sister was going to be accompanying you."

Colin nods, "Thank you for bringing our things up."

"It was no trouble. I'll have dinner up shortly. Is there anything you would prefer?"

"Just something light, its late and I think we'd both like to rest before we have to leave in the morning."

"Right, I'll be back with some fruit and cheese then."

As Sheik heads out the door Colin begins undoing the straps securing his armor. Zelda watches for a while before stepping over and helping him with some of the harder to reach straps. By the time, Sheik returns with their food they had just managed to get all of it off and set to the side.

They eat in silence and then settle into bed.

"Colin?"

"Hmm?"

"Mom's going to worry."

Colin doesn't respond right away. "You said you would write her when you reached Castletown?"

"Mhmm."

"Word of the attack would have reached them by now. I'll ask Sheik in the morning to let them know you're safe. He'll be able to get the message to them safely."

"Mm, should we tell them?"

Colin swallows at his mother's reaction to learning Zelda was the hero. "I think it's best to keep that information to ourselves for now. The fewer people that know the safer."

"Right."

Silence fills the room after that until the soft sounds of breathing are the only thing present.

Ganondorf is listening to one of his creature's reports. They had spread out after the knight that had fled the castle in hopes of finding him.

"We saw the hero enter Kakariko Village just after night fell, we have someone watching the routes in for when he leaves."

"Very good, I want word when he does leave. Have our troops set an ambush for him far enough from the village that he won't receive help. I want him alive."

"Of course, My King. I will relay your instructions to our troops. You will know the moment he steps foot outside of the village."

A shaft of light wakes Zelda early the next morning. Groaning she rolls over and pulls the blanket over her head, refusing to wake up.

"Zelda." The tone is stern and she peaks out from her covers to see her brother standing over her, arms crossed and a stern expression on his face to match his voice. "It's time to get up. We have a long day ahead of us."

"Ungh!" Zelda pushes the blankets away and sits up, rubbing at her eyes and looking around the room. On the table between them she spots a bowl of something steaming and smelling faintly of honey. Colin motions to it.

"Eat up, they made porridge to deal with the large number of people."

"You put honey in it?"

"I remembered you like things sweet."

She picks the pull up and dives in, it isn't long before the bowl is licked clean and Colin is pulling on a chainmail shirt. "I'll step outside to let you get changed." He motions to the display with her armor on it. "I'll help you with anything you can't get on by yourself." He steps through the door after that, pulling a red and gold tunic over his chain shirt.

Zelda stands and turns to the armor. The tunic over the chain shirt has small hints at silver threading along the neck and around the ends of the sleeves. She had studied it last night, still processing the fact it was meant for her. Now, she carefully takes it from the display, followed by the chain shirt and finds beneath that is a white padded shirt. She takes that and puts it on first after removing her old tunic. She's grateful her dad had let her travel with pants instead of her mother's preferred skirt, it meant she didn't have to see if there were pants and boots in the cabinet. With the undershirt on she pulls on the chain shirt and then the tunic. Once those are on she goes over to the cabinet and pulls out the gauntlets and several belts. Confused by how many there are she goes over to the door and opens it.

"Need some help?"

Her brother is standing outside, having managed to finish getting his own gear on properly.

"Yes, please." She holds up the multitude of belts and Colin smirks at her and takes them from her.

"This one goes around your waist to fit the tunic to you, I'm sure that's familiar to you from what you were wearing before. This one goes over the first, it fits looser so it can hang a bit from the weight of your bags." He points to the series of pouches and bags attached to the belt. "The next one attaches to these clips here on the first belt." He points to the clips on the first belt. "Then it goes over your shoulder to secure your sword and shield."

"Doesn't the Master Sword have one of these on it already though?"

"It does, but you probably noticed it slipping around you and sliding down from your shoulder?"

"Yeah, it was really annoying."

"That's because the belt you were using is actually intending to be worn on the hip." He motions to the sword at his own side. "The weight of a sword or shield will drag it down and around. These clips prevent that by securing the belt in place at your waist."

"Why don't I just place my sword at my hip like you do?"

Colin thinks on that for a moment, "Well I think you might prefer the over the shoulder method of drawing. When you put the Master Sword on your back before, why did you do that?"

Zelda shrugs. "I don't know, it just felt right."

"That's why you should keep it positioned that way. You'll naturally grab for it at your shoulder, so we should keep it there."

They finish getting the rest of the gear on, Colin helping Zelda to figure out how to best attach and detach the shield until he is sure she'll be able to get it off quickly should they run into trouble. Satisfied that she was as safe as he could make her they head down to speak with Impa.

"I dare say that does look good on you." The elderly woman scans her eyes over Zelda and notices the hat tucked into her belt. "Not going to wear the hat?"

Zelda shakes her head. "I think it might get in the way of the hood of my cloak."

"I see, well I've had your horses saddled and provisions packed for the two of you."

"Thank you Impa, we'd best be going before it gets too late." Impa nods at Colin.

"Take care you two."

Zelda waves back at Impa as they leave the house. Outside they see Sheik standing next to their horses, the village looks much less crowded this morning, so they plan to ride from Impa's house to the exit.

"Grandmother had me fetch your horses for you. I've also stocked provisions for you."

"Thank you Sheik." Colin takes the reigns of his horse after slinging his saddle bag over and securing it. "I don't suppose I could ask you to do me a favor?"

"Of course, what can I do for you?"

"I need you to go to Lontown and let my parents know that Zelda is safe. She was supposed to send them a letter when she arrived in Castletown, that didn't really happen."

Sheik once again glances over to Zelda, attaching her own saddlebag to Epona's saddle, "Certainly, but are you certain she should go with you? I could escort her home for you."

Colin looks over at his sister as well and shakes his head. "No, she's going to travel with me."

"I see." Colin sees the look in Sheik's eyes and figures he is jumping to a conclusion of his own. His thoughts go back to what he had told Zelda about fewer people knowing about her role in things. He swings up into his saddle, Zelda following suit.

"The Southern route, is it open?"

Sheik thinks on that for a moment, then shakes his head. "Not really, the rains recently washed out part of the road and the bridge is unstable. We sent a request to the king to have it repaired, but,"

"No, I remember, the king was allocating funds for the repairs when we were attacked. I wasn't sure how bad it was though. Is there any other way out of the village, except the way we came in?"

There is a road to the east that leads out to Mount Lanyaru, the road is in disrepair though since no one uses it anymore."

"Point us out that way, I don't want to risk being spotted by any of the enemy spies if it can be avoided."

Understanding his concern Sheik points the way up a steep hill to a wooded overlook. "If you go up that way you'll pass a spring, go past that until you reach the entrance to a canyon. On the North wall, you'll see a road has been built on it. It goes through the canyon and continues up to Mount Lanyaru. Given its location I doubt anyone even remembers that it's there, but it would be the perfect place for an ambush. The horses, shouldn't have any problem to the South though."

Colin had been concerned when Sheik mentioned the canyon, but if what he had just hinted at was true, there was a way to leave the village by taking the Southern rim of the canyon instead of the road through it.

"Thank you Sheik. Come on Zelda, we'd best be going before the crowd builds up again."

"Right. Lead the way."

* * *

Hey, so I hope everyone is enjoying this so far, I know I am. Please let me know what you think in a review.


	9. Chapter 9

It doesn't take the pair long to make their way up to the forest overlooking the village they were just in. When they come to a place where the road begins to go between to hills Colin guides them to leave the road and go up over the Southern hill.

"Um, didn't Sheik say to take the road through the canyon?"

"He said that would be one way to go, yes."

The two come across a small pond and go around it.

"So why are we avoiding the road?"

"The enemy may be watching the roads. I'm not so confident to think they wouldn't have sent someone to follow us. If at all possible I would like them not to know where we are heading."

Ahead of them is a steep hill that could almost be a cliff. They both stop their horses and stare at it.

"So, are we supposed to leave the horses?"

"No." Colin looks to both sides of the blockade before noticing what looks like an old landslide, sloped just enough for a horse to navigate. "The Sheikah made sure that there are always back ways out of their village in cases of emergency." Colin dismounts and leads his horse to the slope. "It's not much of a secret back door if just anyone can find it though."

Zelda dismounts and follows her brother up the slope, leading Epona carefully over the rough terrain. "So, no one but the Sheikah know about this route?"

"Pretty much."

"How do you know about it then?"

"Sheik has come by the castle on errands from Impa. He and I got to know each other during his visits with the prince."

"And he told you about these secret routes?"

"Eh, sort of. He technically told the prince, I just happened to be with them when he did."

They reach the top of the slope and Colin looks ahead of them. "It might be best if we continue to walk the horses for now."

They carefully make their way along the narrow path that leads up a steep cliff. Zelda makes note that if they were not already on it that it would most likely be impossible to see. Eventually they make it to the gentler hills leading along the Southern edge of the canyon. Below them they can see the road that Sheik had told them about and in the distance beyond they see a towering peak.

"That must be Mount Lanyaru." Colin mounts his horse. "We should be good to ride from here." He looks up to see the position of the sun. "We'll need to find somewhere we can set up camp soon."

Zelda follows suit and is soon back on Epona. "Which way then?"

"It's probably best to continue East."

They ride in silence for a while before Zelda breaks it.

"Colin?"

"Hmm? What is it Zelda?"

"Are we just going to wonder around while you train me? It's just, I remember hearing stories about the heroes of the past and it seems they all had trials they had to overcome on their journeys."

Colin rubs his chin and then seems to remember something. Reaching into his saddlebag he rummages around for a while before pulling out a journal with the royal crest on it. "I can't believe I almost forgot about this. The prince told me as he ordered me to leave that he had left instructions on how to find shrines that held the power to seal the evil."

"So, we need to unlock this power to help the prince?"

"Yes." Colin opens the book and glances through it. "It looks like Mount Lanyaru is actually the location of one of the shrines we need to visit."

"We should probably make our way there then."

Colin nods in agreement and puts the book away. "There's a spring dedicated to the Goddess Nayru at the top of the mountain. The entrance to the shrine we need should be up there."

"Did the prince mention how we're supposed to unlock the power hidden there?"

"No, we'll just have to figure it out once we get up there."

Zelda looks up at the mountain ahead of them. "There's a lot of snow up there, do we have the proper gear for that?"

Colin winces at the observation. "No, we'll need to buy some. There should be a village to the South of the mountain, we can buy things there."

Zelda looks thoughtful, "Colin, maybe I should go into the village alone and buy supplies to go up the mountain with."

What? No, I can't let you do that. What if one of the enemy spies you?"

Zelda rolls her eyes, "Colin, to start with they won't be looking for a girl, let alone me. Even if someone saw us entering Kakariko they would have assumed you were just helping me get to safety after the attack. More than likely they are looking for you."

Sighing, Colin can't find a fault in that argument. "Right, fine. You go in and buy supplies for us to head up the mountain. I want you to be careful though, we don't know who could be acting as spies for our enemy."

"Will do Big Brother." Zelda gives Colin a mocking salute and a cheeky grin.

"What do you mean he hasn't left Kakariko yet!"

The bokoblin that was reporting to Ganondorf was shaking at the angry growl let out by his master.

"We have had all three roads leading in and out of the village watched since last night My Lord. There has been no sign of him."

"Send someone into the village to look for him. He has no reason to stay in the village so long, find out if he snuck out somehow and where he would be heading."

The bokoblin scurries out of the throne room to follow through on his master's orders as Ganondorf turn to the prince, still trapped in a crystal prison.

"Where have you sent him?"

Link stays silent, standing with his shoulders squared.

With a growl Ganondorf lashes out and the prison around the prince shatters. Before Link can do anything about it though Ganondorf has a tight hand around his throat.

"I am not amused by your silence Prince. You will tell me what I want to know or I will find other ways to make your stay with me unpleasant."

Link grabs at the hand around his throat, pulling at the tight grip. "And what would telling you anything accomplish?"

The grip on his neck tightens, "I may need you alive, but that leaves a large margin for the state you can be in. Telling me what I want will lead to your comfort during your stay with me."

Link grits his teeth, "No amount of torture will convince me to expose our hero."

Ganondorf's grin is unsettling as he leans in close to the prince's face. "Oh, I wasn't thinking of torture."

Link's eyes widen and he goes still in the evil king's grip. His right hand begins to glow and a bright light bursts forth throwing the two across the room. Link tumbles on the floor while Ganondorf stumbles back against the throne.

Both seem to be surprised by the sudden burst of power from the prince.

Link rubs at his sore throat, bruises already showing up where Ganondorf's hand had gripped him. He looks up as Ganondorf begins to walk toward him, the evil king having recovered much more quickly than the prince.

"Do you think you can escape?" Link struggles to his feet to stand opposite his foe.

"The thought had crossed my mind."

Ganondorf narrows his eyes and lashes out his hand, the symbol of power glowing on the back of it as he unleashes an orb of power at the prince. A barrier comes up around Link and deflects the orb. Link manages a nervous laugh at that, eyes trained on the evil king before him.

"My beasts are all throughout the castle and the town. You can try to run, but you will not make it very far before they catch you."

"You know I think I'll take my chances with that." Link turns and begins running for the door, another orb of power is flung past him, striking the door and shattering it. He ducks through the explosion as Ganondorf tries to pursue him only to find that Link had cast a barrier on his feet to hold him in place. The evil king shouts his outrage as the Prince flees through the castle. The main gate would certainly have a heavy guard on it, but he does not head that direction. Years ago, he had led his men on a training exercise through the secret passages of the castle. It was to familiarize them with all the nooks and crannies the castle held to give them the upper hand should the castle ever come under attack. Now that familiarization let him take servant's passages and hidden routes down through the castle eventually leading down to an alcove with a suit of armor standing in it. Behind the armor is a banner, behind which the prince ducks just in time to avoid a troop of bokoblins that are running past.

Link takes a moment to breath before stepping further back into the alcove and into a secret passage. It was designed to allow the royal family to escape the castle if it should come under siege, or to allow members of the Sheikah clan to infiltrate in the case of the castle being overtaken. Now he was using it himself to escape.

Carefully Link makes his way down the steep stairs that lead under the river and come out on the opposite side. As he does so he tries to think of where he can go. Kakariko is out, Ganondorf's eyes are already on the village. Then an idea strikes him. Lontown. The passage he is in lets out on the West side of the river anyway. Colin's hometown wouldn't be getting watched as closely as many of the other safe haven's available to him.

He reaches the end of the passage, a stone door with an old Sheikah mechanism to activate it. Carefully Link listens at the door to make sure that nothing might be waiting on the other side before opening it. It opens into a small cave with little more than a crack in the stone to mark the entrance, which is also overgrown with plants. The opening would be difficult for him to squeeze through in his full armor. Closing the door to the passage behind him he begins to take off his breastplate and bulkier pieces, leaving them in a pile. Once he is down to a long sleeved green tunic and tan pants he cautiously goes to the crack that leads out of the cave. Peeking out he tries confirm that there is no one out there before he leaves, making his way West to Lontown.

Zelda had left Colin with the horses in a hidden spot off the road leading into Hateno City, the city was a bustling place of trade and had grown in the last century from a quaint village to a city renowned for the research center on the hill overlooking it. Many people came here to study and pursue higher education and because of that others had come to sell their goods to the students of the research center. Zelda pushes her way through the crowded streets until she spots a shop selling clothing and makes her way there.

Upon entering the store, she sees a few displays with various items for sale. Looking around she sees a sign for mountaineering gear.

"Hello, can I help you find something?"

Zelda looks up from the jacket she was looking at to see the shop keeper at the counter. "Uh, I was just looking for a couple of jackets for a trip up Mount Lanyaru."

"Oh, are you one of the research students?"

Zelda nods, "Yes. Myself and colleague are going to be doing research on the weather patterns higher up the mountain."

"That sounds exciting." The shop keeper comes out and walks over to where Zelda is standing. "We actually have a few pieces of Rito clothing, they're enchanted to keep the wearer warm even in the coldest of temperatures." They hold up a headband with feathers coming off it.

Zelda admires it, "It looks expensive, I don't have a large budget for equipment and I need to get enough for my partner and myself."

"Ah, well in that case," The shopkeeper puts the headband back where it came from and steps around her to reach a shelf with two green jackets on it. "These are the cheapest I have that I would feel comfortable selling you for your trip. The mountain gets rather cold the higher you go and anything cheaper than this would still let you freeze."

Zelda nods, "Thank you. Do you happen to also have sleeping bags? We may need to stay the night up there and would rather be prepared."

"Yes, we do." The shopkeeper goes to a nearby shelf and pulls down two brown bundles rolled and strapped together. "Here you go. Is there anything else you may need for your trip?"

"No." Zelda shakes her head and the shopkeeper takes the sleeping bags over to the counter and sets them down. Zelda sets the jackets next to them. "How much?"

"Eight hundred rupees."

Zelda swallows and looks in the purse Colin had given her to buy supplies. She hadn't had much when she left home, just enough for room and board at the inns along the way to Castletown, most of that she had spent already. Opening the purse, she looks inside to see three gold rupees and sighs in relief, she'd have enough leftover to buy some food at the general store. Pulling out the rupees she hands them to the shop keeper and waits for her change.

With the transaction complete, Zelda hurries across the street where she had spotted a general store and goes in to buy a few staples for their trip. They had gotten things back in Kakariko, but there was no telling how long it would be before they could stop in another village or town.

With her purchases in hand she makes her way out of town and quickly back up to where she had left Colin.

"I'm back!"

Colin sends her smile when he sees her and hurries over to help with the equipment she had gotten. He raises an eyebrow at the food she had bought and she shrugs at him.

"You're concerned about spies. Aside from the fact that I pretended to be a student at the research center going up the mountain to study weather patterns, I didn't know when we'd next be able to buy food."

"Good thinking. Come on, let's pack this up and get moving."


	10. Chapter 10

Ganondorf was in a foul mood. The prince had managed to escape despite his soldiers searching the castle for him and guarding the gates. It hadn't taken him long to realize the prince must have escaped through some secret passage. Once he had he told his minions to surround the castle and patrol the surrounding area to find the exit of the passage.

"That little brat. How dare he make a fool of me?" Ganondorf clenches his fist. "I will find him and his hero and I will break both of them before I rip the Triforce from them both."

It had taken Sheik longer than he had hoped to reach Lontown, but he had made it. The small village seems to also have taken in many of the Castletown residents that had fled before the attack as tents and lean-tos were scattered about the area. Knowing that Colin's family had a large farm he looks around for one of the larger buildings and makes his way there. The farm seems to have a small fence with a gate arching over the opening through which a path leads to a house and large barn. A woman with dark blonde hair is standing at a large cook pot while a line of refugees waits their turn to be served some sort of stew.

"Can I help you with something young man?"

Sheik turns to see a man with greying brown hair and kind green eyes. "Yes, you wouldn't happen to be Colin's father, would you?"

The man's eyes sadden at the question and he glances past Sheik to the woman serving the refugees. "I am. Has something happened to my son?"

Sheik's eyes widen a bit at the resigned tone to the man's voice and he hastily holds his hands up. "It's not what you think." Sheik relaxes as the man does before continuing. "He was sent away from the Castle as the attack happened and ran into your daughter on his way. He asked me to let you know they were both safe."

The man sighs and seems relieved to hear about both his children. "Thank you for that. My wife and I were both worried when we heard about the attack on Castletown and we both feared the worst."

"I can imagine." Sheik turns to go, needing to return to his own village before too long.

"Is there a reason Colin sent you instead of coming himself or even sending his sister with you?" Sheik looks back at the man, concern once more on his face.

"I'm sorry, it's not place to share that information."

"But it is my place." Both men turn to see Link coming up the path toward them, Sheik's eyes widening at the sight of the prince, though Colin's father seems to be slightly confused.

"It is? And who might you be?"

Link smiles and holds out his hand to greet Dorin. "My name is Link. I sent your son on an important mission to help me save Hyrule from Ganondorf."

"Link?" Dorin's confusion turns to surprise and he hastily bows. "Your Majesty! I'm sorry if I was rude before. I didn't recognize you."

Link lets out a laugh and waves him off. "It's alright." His face then turns serious, "I should be the one apologizing to you. I sent your son on a dangerous mission and have made him a target for our enemy."

"I'm sure he's more than capable and honored to serve Your Majesty."

"You have him searching for the Princess of Destiny, don't you?" Sheik looks curiously at the prince and Dorin's eyes widen at the question.

The prince looks thoughtful before smiling at the two. "Is there somewhere private we can talk?" Just then there is a loud growling sound and the prince sheepishly covers his stomach. "And maybe I could get some of that stew being served up?"

The path to the top of Mount Lanyaru was difficult to reach with the horses, but once they managed to get onto it things went much smoother.

"We'll need to stop for the night before heading up."

Zelda agrees with a nod and points to a recessed part of the mountain just off the path. "That should be a good shelter or the night."

"Yeah, let's set up in there, the horses can help to block some of the wind."

The two hurry about setting up camp and divvying out rations. They don't dare light a fire, still concerned with being spotted by enemy troops. They may be rather far from the castle, but they were still being pursued.

Heaving a sigh once they've eaten Colin turns to his sister. "How much were you able to play with that toy sword I sent you for your twelfth birthday?"

Zelda looks up at her brother, head tilted to the side. "Not very often, I was busy helping around the farm. But I would usually try and get in a few swings at a tree or post each week. I sort of found it comforting to have in hand."

Colin raises an eyebrow a smile coming to his lips. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Zelda looks up to the sky above them going dark now that the sun had set. "I guess it makes more sense now, I'm the hero and knowing how to handle a sword is natural, right?"

Colin gives a thoughtful nod. "That does make sense. Still we should see how you handle a sword." Colin stands up and draws his sword. "Let's try sparring a bit. Come on."

Zelda stands up and draws the Master Sword with ease before standing opposite her brother in a clear space near their camp. The lighting wasn't the best, but short of starting a fire it was as bright as it was going to get.

"You come at me first, I'll just block for now."

Zelda grins and lounges at her brother with a broad swing of her sword. Colin easily blocks the blade causing Zelda to pull it back before thrusting it in his direction. Another swing of his sword and Zelda's is redirected to skim past him, not even nicking his tunic. He can see she is getting frustrated as she sends a wide, wild swing at his side, which he blocks.

"You can't lose your cool in a fight Zelda. Natural or not it leaves you open. Tighten up your movement and you'll leave less openings."

He watches as she takes a figurative step back and seems to adjust a few things before coming at him again, this time with a better swing. Her follow up is better as well.

"Good. Make sure to keep your feet about the same distance apart as your shoulders, this will help keep you balanced in a fight."

They continue on like this for an hour before Colin can see exhaustion creeping up on his sister.

"Let's stop there and get some rest. We'll continue every night until this is over."

Zelda sheathes her sword and collapses onto her sleeping bag breathing heavily. "Ugh, my arms feel dead." She flops back as Colin sits on his own bag, smirking at her.

"It's not that bad, we did this sort of thing for hours while training and even now I have to keep in practice with at least two hours a day."

"Oh, Goddesses, how did you survive?"

"They worked us up to it gradually. You, unfortunately, do not have that same luxury. We need to work on your stamina, a prolonged fight would be too much for you as you are."

"Great." Zelda rolls over onto her side, knees pulling up and hands tucked under her cheek. "I'm going to bed. 'Night Colin."

"Good night Zelda."

"My daughter is the Legendary Hero?"

Link nods keeping his eyes on the two across the table from him. Sheik seemed more surprised than Dorin though.

"That's what I suspect anyways. I haven't actually met her as such it's just speculation by me at this point."

Sheik heaves a sigh and draws the attention of both to him. "She is. When they were in Kakariko I thought it strange that she carried the Master Sword. I thought that if Colin had been sent to find the Princess of Destiny and he had found her he might entrust the blade to her safe keeping until they could return to the castle. The only reason I thought they had it was because it would be the only way to identify the Princess."

"I suppose that makes some sense. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner that I wasn't the hero Sheik, but we felt that it was best if as few people knew as possible."

"We?"

"Impa is aware as well. I had intended to tell Colin eventually, but I was forced to rush the explanation during the attack. I imagine he is not very happy with me right now."

"Does this Ganondorf person know?" Link turns to Dorin, seeing the frown on his face.

"Yes, he knew before he attacked, technically. He came looking for the Princess of Destiny, he may not have known I was a man this time, but he knew I was in the castle. Unfortunately, he also was given the false impression that Colin is the hero and has his forces out looking for him. Its why I came here once I escaped. If I tried to find them based on where I know they are going I would either run into his men and be recaptured or lead them straight to them."

"We certainly won't turn you away, Your Majesty. You're welcome here for as long as you need to stay."

Link smiles at Dorin, "Thank you. And please just call me Link, the fewer people that know me as the prince the better. I wouldn't want Ganondorf to learn where I've run to."

"Then you should probably go by another name while you are here. Most people are aware of your name and it is a rather uncommon one."

"Hmm?" Link furrows his brow. "I see your point. Alright then," The prince concentrates for a long few moments before a sad smile takes over his face. "Grauss. He was one of my knights and the only one other than Colin to have been from humble origins."

Silence fills the space in respect, they all were aware of what had happened to the rest of Link's knights.

"I think that would be best. I'll let my wife know that Zelda is safe in Kakariko and that Colin survived, but I think it would be best if we continue to keep this to ourselves. I would never be able to live with myself if something happened to either one of my children because I shared such information and it was heard by our enemies."

"I had best be going myself. I have things to attend to in Kakariko and can't stay away much longer. I will be in touch though if I hear any word from Colin or Zelda."

"Thank you. Let me grab you a few things before you leave, it's getting late and you'll want provisions for the road." Dorin stands and begins gathering things for Sheik from the kitchen area of the house.


	11. Chapter 11

Zelda was very glad for the warm jacket she wears as they stand before the Goddess statue in the shrine dedicated to Nayru.

"So, how are we supposed to activate this sealing power that is locked away here?"

Colin was reading through the prince's journal While Zelda explores the area. It was much more open than she had expected it to be, consisting of the Goddess statue and a platform. Columns seemed to have been erected at one point but the place was open to the sky above.

"It says here that there should be a guardian that protects the shrine and serves the Goddess."

"Wouldn't we have seen it on our way up here though?"

"I would have assumed so, but where is it?" Colin looks around as Zelda had been, searching for any sign that there was anyone else here. Zelda, meanwhile, was currently in the shallow spring surrounding the platform that Colin was standing on. There was a cliff face that rose up behind the statue and she figured that if there was anywhere for a secret door to be hidden, that would be enough, as she comes up to the point directly behind the statue she sees a faint outline etched into the stone of the crest of the royal family.

"Colin, I think I found something." Reaching out she lays her left hand over the mark and notices the back of her hand begin to glow. She yanks it back in surprise as Colin comes up behind her.

"You found something?"

"Yeah." She nods to the wall with the mark, holding her left hand back at her side. "It's the mark of the royal family, isn't it?"

Colin moves forward and inspects the mark before nodding. "It is, but that doesn't tell us how to open it." He then notices how she is holding her left hand.

"Is everything alright?" He nods his chin at the hand she is holding and she blushes a bit in embarrassment at how she is acting.

"I, well, when I reached out to touch it earlier my hand began to glow. It was weird."

"Glow? Huh." Colin studies the mark a bit longer before stepping back from the wall. "Show me."

Zelda reaches out for the emblem on the wall once again and her hand begins to glow, eventually coalescing into the familiar mark of the triforce. Just as it is fully visible the light seems to expand, engulfing Zelda completely before fading away, taking her with it.

"Zelda!" Colin looks around frantically for his sister before pulling out the book and reading through it again. Near the back, in a part he hadn't reached before now is a message from the prince that seems to be directed at him.

'Colin, I know I have placed a heavy burden on you by tasking you with guiding the hero. I also know, that if I am right about who the hero is, I have burdened you further. I know it will not be easy for you to but your sister in danger and that you may feel the need to be at her side at all times as she gathers the power to seal this evil, but you can not. The shrines that she must visit to awaken the power of sealing held by the three guardians are something that only the Hero of Legend is permitted to enter. She must go alone.'

Colin stares at the message for several long moments before the cold of the spring and the freezing temperatures draws his attention to the need to stay warm. He makes his way back over to the platform in front of the Goddess statue before gathering a bundle of wood and starting a fire. If the prince said that the temple would only allow the hero to enter then he would just wait here for his sister to come out.

Zelda blinks and looks around after the bright golden light fades from her vision. Looking around she takes note that this was not the same place she was before. To begin with it was closed in on all sides with blue lit torches mounted on the walls surrounding her. The wall in front of her has a door set in it. Looking around the otherwise bare space she carefully steps toward the door.

"Where am I?"

Pushing open the door she looks out into a large room that seemingly has no floor other than what is directly on the other side of the door. Stepping forward she looks over the edge of the floor and sees a long deep shaft that goes down several stories.

"Ok." Looking to either side she realizes there is a staircase that spirals around the shaft from the platform she is on. "So, I need to go down. Great."

Keeping one hand on the wall she begins her descent of the stairs. After a little while she comes across a large block of ice blocking the stairs and a door set into the wall. Heaving a sigh she opens the door and peers inside before quickly slamming the door closed.

"Ok, what was that thing." Steeling herself she opens the door once more to look at the creature inside. The creature looks like a large wolf, but it is hunched over and standing more like a large ape, knuckles dragging the ground. To her surprise the creature doesn't move. A closer look shows that what she thought was a living creature is actually a frozen statue. With caution Zelda enters the room and goes to inspect the wolf statue.

"This is weird." She pulls out her sword and prods the statue, the sound it makes isn't that of metal on stone, but rather metal on ice or wood. Blinking she looks up and realizes how much detail the statue has and begins to back away from it.

"Ok, not a statue. What could have frozen it so solid though?" Looking around at each wall she only notices a couple of doors opposite the one she entered through. Between them is a relief of a closed eye. Her shoulders slump as she looks between the two doors. "I guess I have to pick one."

Moving to the one on the left she gives wide berth to the frozen beast in the middle of the room. Once at the door she checks it to see if it's unlocked and is surprised to find it is. Sword still in hand she opens it and looks in. The room she looks into is mostly bare, except for the floor which seems to have a grid like pattern on it made of deeply cut grooves and a chest on the opposite side from her.

Stepping fully into the room she looks around for anything else and spotting none she begins making her way across the room. She manages to jump back when one of the squares on the floor gives out under her weight, just before a large spear of ice comes crashing down from the ceiling. After getting her breathing under control she looks up and sees that the ceiling is covered in the sharp points of giant icicles. Scurrying back to the wall by the door in a crab crawl she looks around for any clues about how to get across.

"Great, I'm almost positive that whatever is in that chest I'm going to need down here." Biting her lower lip, she looks at the floor again. The remains of the icicle that had fallen was several squares in, so those first few were safe. Which probably meant there was a pattern to the switches hidden on the floor.

With no clues in the current room Zelda makes her way back out into the previous room and goes to the second door and finds it locked.

"Grrr." She kicks the door and looks around for some way to open it. She looks up at the relief of the eye between the two doors, maybe the switch was up there. It was too high for her to reach though.

"Just wonderful, what am I supposed to do now?" Looking around she tries to see if maybe she had missed something when she notices the floor under the wolf creature. It looked different than the rest of the floor around it. "Oh, please don't be the switch." Realizing that whether the spot was the switch or not she would need to move the frozen monster regardless.

"Maybe I can," She looks at the sword in her hand then back at the wolf. It could work, hopefully she wouldn't break the sword. "I really don't want to be known as the hero that broke the Master Sword." Gripping the sword tightly she swings it at one of the creature's arms. The sound of shattering glass fills the silence of the room and the wolf creature shakes shards of ice from its fur before its focus turns to her.

"Ok, this may be worse than breaking the Master Sword." She hastily pulls her shield from her back and holds it to block a swing of the creature's claws as it growls at her. The attack almost rips her arm off when it impacts the shield, causing Zelda to stumble back. She manages to keep her feet under her, but only because she impacts the wall behind her and is able to brace herself against it.

The wolf creature growls at her before charging. With a spin to the side she moves out of the way, just in time for it to impact the wall, stunning it. With adrenaline racing through her she turns and swings with her sword once again, slashing the thing's back. It lets out a howl of pain and in that moment Zelda manages a second slash across its back which results in it collapsing to the ground and dissolving into a black mist.

Zelda stands there for a long moment, panting and gripping her sword with white knuckles. After she manages to calm herself down she notices the floor under where the wolf had been, is raised just slightly and glances up at the relief of the eye to find it open. Sword still in hand she walks over to the door on the right and finds it is now unlocked. Heaving a sigh, she braces herself as she opens the door and looks in. This room is smaller than the one next to it and opposite the door is a small chest.

Checking the floor for any obvious traps this time, Zelda makes her way over to the chest with no issues and manages to open it. Inside is a roll of parchment. Picking it up, she unrolls it and looks it over. It's a grid similar to the floor in the other room with several of the squares marked by skulls. Running on a hunch she looks in the area where the icicle had fallen and sees a skull on that square.

"So, it's a guide to the traps in that room." With another sigh, she rolls the parchment back up and heads back out into the first room before heading over to the door on the left. Trying the door, she finds its locked. "Really! I mean really!" Growing more and more frustrated at the whole situation, she stomps over to the switch and stands on it. The eye closes and she can just hear the sound of a lock releasing while another clicks into place. Stepping off the switch releases it and the eye opens once again. "This is ridiculous!"

Closing her eyes, she tries to think about this logically. The switch had been pressed when she came in because the monster was standing on it. It also needed to have some weight on it to unlock the left door and only one door could be unlocked at a time. So, what did she have that could weigh down the switch so she could go through the left door.

"That chest!" Rushing back into the room on the right she picks up the chest and carries it out into the first room, setting it down on the switch in the floor. The switch goes down, the eye closes and she hears the locks change positions. "Yes!" Happy that she figured it out she goes into the room on the left and pulls out the map of the floor before carefully making her way across the room to the chest on the other side.

Opening the chest, she finds inside it a rod with a red orb on one end and made of a reddish metal. Curious she picks it up and gives it an experimental swing. Fire shoots from the end of it and bounces around the floor in front of her, causing her to jump back with a start. The fire burns itself out quickly, but she looks at the rod and then looks toward the door she came through. There was that large block of ice blocking the stairs.

Link hisses as a sharp pain shoots up from his hand, causing him to drop the pitchfork he was using to muck out the barn. Inspecting his hand shows that he had ripped open a blister and it was bleeding and oozing. Dorin had told him he didn't need to help around the farm, but Link had insisted. It would have seemed odd if he wasn't doing something, the anonymity he gained by taking his former knight's name would only go so far if he was seen sitting around while everyone else did their part.

Inspecting his hand, he realizes he'll need to wash it and dress it before getting back to work. He did find it odd that even though he had spent his life with a sword in hand the callouses from that were not the same as one gains from working on a farm. Walking to a corner of the barn he finds a water bucket and pump. A few quick pumps and he has enough water in the bucket to clean his wound before going into the house for a bandage. As he is washing his hands he spots something interesting tucked in behind the wall by the water pump. Finishing with his hands he stands up and goes over to what he had noticed.

It's a wooden sword. Its sized a bit small, something you might give a young knight in training. Looking it over he finds that the wood along the blade is dented and scuffed and the leather grip of the handle is worn and slightly shiny from wear. A smile spreads on his face and he feels a great worry rise from his shoulders. If this was Zelda's as he suspected, then she would be somewhat familiar with a sword. It was something he had been concerned about since he began to suspect that Colin's sister was the hero. No normal farmgirl would have the background to wield a sword with confidence, but it looks like she may not be so normal.

Zelda was tired. She was sweaty and filthy and grimy and just wanted to lay down and rest for the next decade, but she couldn't do that just yet. It had been hours since she was sent to this strange place and she had been forced to fight monsters, dodge traps and overcome obstacles to get to this point, this point being the bottom of that shaft she had started at the top of, and she was a bit fed up with whoever designed this place. Before her stood a large set of double doors and she just knew, just absolutely was positive that on the other side of those doors had to be another monster for her to fight.

"I swear to the Three if I have to fight the guardian of this place to 'prove' myself to it then I will straight up kill it, sealing power be damned."

Steeling herself she walks up to the doors and pushes them open. Inside is a large open room with a pool of water taking up most of the floor other than the platform she walks out onto. The ceiling is vaulted and seems to extend up almost as far as the shaft she had descended. Zelda puffs and sees her breath fog in the chill air.

"Ok, so where's the guardian?"

As if in answer to her question the water begins to stir and bubble. Soon she sees a large bulge begin to raise up from the center and she braces herself for another fight, sword and shield held at the ready. As the water sloughs off Zelda finds herself swallowing her nerves. What was revealed was the head of a massive dragon. It fills the space of the room and she can only imagine how deep that pool of water must be for it to have the rest of its body coiled underneath. The dragon's scales are white with purple and blue accents, a crown of blue horn crests its head as it locks an eye with Zelda.

"Hero of Legend, you have overcome many trials to come to this point." The voice is much softer than Zelda would have thought for such a large being, its gentle and she gets a feeling of calm from it. "I am Naydra, Guardian of the Spring of Wisdom and servant of the Goddess of Wisdom, Nayru. What do you seek?"

Zelda is stunned, this dragon was a servant of the goddess, this was the being whose help they sought. What was she supposed to ask it for?

"Hyrule is in peril. A great evil has invaded and I seek your assistance in seal it away so it may be stopped." She hopes she said that right and hadn't just offended it by saying something stupid.

The dragon shifts its head as if tilting it in thought. "You seek my aid in your quest to stop this evil?" It eyes Zelda in consideration of her request. After several minutes, it lowers its head so its chin is nearly touching the platform on which Zelda stands. "I will grant you this aid, but know that it will not come easy. My power is sealed here, for now. If I am to help you then you must first help me. There are two temples in Hyrule, I need for you to go to them and place my power in the center of each."

Zelda furrows her brow, the request doesn't seem that difficult, but, "How am I supposed to place your power at these temples? And how will I find them?"

If Zelda didn't know better she'd think the dragon was laughing at her. It then opens its mouth and a gentle if cold breeze flows over her. She shivers from the chill.

"I have given you a part of my power, it resides within you. To unleash it hold back your blade and hold, the power will gather there and you may then unleash it in a powerful wave by swinging your blade around. This will momentarily freeze your opponent. By unlocking the other two temples the duration that your opponent is stopped will increase. As for the temples' locations. One is located in Lake Hylia, the other is in the Zora's Domain."

Zelda looks down at herself in surprise. A bright light then begins to surround her and she feels herself getting lighter, very similar to when she was brought into this place.

"Go forth now Hero. Save this land of Hyrule."

Night had fallen while Colin waited for Zelda. Worry still gnawed at him, but he was trying to ignore it. He had used the hours since Zelda was whisked away to go over a map of Hyrule and mark the locations of the other two temples they would need to visit. He notes that one is to the North in the Akala region while the other is south in the northern part of the Faron woods. Of course, he would take them to the one in the middle first. Now the question became if they would go North first or if they should head South.

AS he is pondering this a light begins to form in front of the Goddess statue near him. After a while he looks up and sees a form gathering in the light before the light fades away to reveal Zelda.

"Zelda!" Colin is on his feet and holding her tightly before her feet have even fully settled on the ground. "I was worried. Are you alright?" He releases her from the tight embrace and holds her back by her shoulders, inspecting her for any injuries. He makes note that he tunic seems to have been ripped in a few places and she has scuffs on her cheek.

"I'm fine, really Colin. I'm sorry I took so long getting out of there." She smiles at him and that's all he needs to know she really is fine.

Heaving a sigh of relief, he manages to let her stand fully on her own. "I'm glad to hear that. Did you manage to find the Guardian and ask it for help regarding the evil?"

Zelda nods and almost collapses next to the fire Colin had started. "I did, they're willing to help us. I just have to help them first."

"Help them?"

"I need to unseal two temples and leave a portion of Naydra's power in each, then they will be able to help us."

"Who's Naydra?" Colin furrows his brow in confusion, not familiar with the name.

"Naydra is the guardian we came to ask for help. They're this massive dragon. I'm pretty sure their head was the size of our house or maybe the barn. They were really pretty though and they had a kind voice."

They sit in silence for a moment as Colin tries to wrap his head around all the information Zelda had shared with him.

"I wonder if the other two guardians will be dragons also, and if they'll need me to unseal temples for them."

That has Colin thinking. "Did they tell you where the temples are that need unsealed?"

Zelda nods, "They did. One is in Lake Hylia, the other is in Zora's Domain."

Colin pulls out the map he had been thinking over earlier and looks at where they now needed to go. "Zora's Domain is near the temple in the North the prince told us to go to. We should be able to go to one and then the other. From there we can see what other temples we need to go to and mark them on the map as well."

"That sounds like a plan, but can we rest before we head out. I'm exhausted and hungry. And I really just want a bath."

Colin chuckles at his sister. "Sure, we can rest. Do you want to rest here or go down the mountain first?"

"Sleep first, I don't think I could make it down if we went now." Zelda crawls over to where Colin is sitting and leans against him. "Just give me an hour or two and then we can go down and be on our way."

Colin wraps an arm around his sister with a smile and rubs her shoulder. "Yeah, we can do that. You just rest."

It may have not been something he was completely comfortable with still, but it looked like Zelda was handling things rather well. He just hoped that she would continue to be able to handle things as their journey continues.


	12. Chapter 12

Colin looks at the map and then back out across the river they were standing beside. He knew that across that river was Zora's Domain and that they need to get over there so they could get this temple that is supposed to be there. The domain is large though and Colin isn't sure if they can pinpoint the temple without asking the locals. Which means they have to go to the city at the center of the domain and ask.

Zelda peaks over his shoulder, "Hmm, so we need to go here, right?" She points to the center of the domain in front of them. "And then we need to head up here?" She points to the mark on the map for the temple dedicated to Din in Akkala.

"Yeah, I just don't think we can take the horses any further than this." He was actually rather loath to admit they may have to leave them here.

Zelda hums again. "There's a stable right here though, it's on the way out of the domain. Why don't we just sent the horses there? That way we have them when we finish with the Zora and can make our way to the temple."

"Send the horses? Zelda, they won't know how to get there."

Zelda just waves him off and walks over to Epona and begins taking the saddlebags off and loosening the saddle. "Epona's smart, she'll get both of them around to the stable, we just need to tell her where to meet us."

Colin is a bit confused and gives his sister an incredulous look. "That's insane, she's never been there before, there's no way to think she'll know where to go."

Zelda has moved onto his horse now and is dressing it down as much as she can before grabbing its reigns and securing them to Epona's saddle. "So little faith in your dear sister and her steed." She walks over to Epona's head and rubs her between her eyes. "Alright Epona, I want you to lead Colin's horse to the stable at the base of Death Mountain." Here she points up to the large volcano in the distance. "You'll be good and wait for us there, right?"

The horse actually knickers in response, which unnerves Colin, and then begins walking off along the river. Colin's horse is quick to follow.

"Alright so how do we cross the river?"

"Cross the, oh right, the river." Colin turns his attention to the river, no longer needing to figure out what they were going to with the horses, though that still confused him. "We just need to find a narrow stretch or one with boulders that we can jump across, swimming would not be ideal."

"Why not?" Zelda is peering over into the river below them, curiosity clear on her face.

"Aside from the current being so strong there is the additional problem of our gear weighing us down." He bends over and picks up his saddlebag and hers, handing hers to her. "There's more than just these bags. We also have our chain shirts and weapons. Bows don't do well once wet and while the Master Sword may be impervious to water damage, mine could still rust."

Zelda looks slightly chastised, not Colin's goal in what he told her, but it's not going to have him changing what he told her. He watches her glance up and down the river bank before pointing downstream.

"The water seems to be rougher that way, you can almost hear the rapids. If you want to go across on rocks that would be where you want to go." She points upstream now. "If we go this way we'll have to climb more, you can tell that the bank gets higher from the water upstream, maybe a canyon or something. We may be able to find a tree that's fallen across up there or use rope to make a makeshift bridge."

Colin stares at Zelda for a long moment, "How do you know all of that?"

She rolls her eyes and begins making her way upstream. "Colin, we have a stream on the farm with a similar pattern to it. Believe me or not, but I do know quite a bit that's actually helpful."

"And that's how you milk a cow." Dorin stands and steps away from the short stool and bucket under the cow. "Why don't you give it a try now?"

Link eyes the cow but figures it can't be that hard and settles down on the stool before gripping the teat and squeezing it between his thumb and forefinger and pulling down. A thin stream of milky white is his reward and he is soon alternating between the two. After a while though he realizes his fingers and wrists are aching. He scowls and tries to push through, changing his grip and the angle of his wrists.

A chuckle behind him has him stopping.

"Getting sore?"

Dorin is still in the barn, adding hay to the stalls for the animals, and apparently keeping an eye on him.

"I'm probably just doing it wrong."

"No, you were doing it right. It's harder than you expected, isn't it?"

Link nods, trying to ignore the laughing tone his knight's father is using.

"I know you're not afraid of hard work, Colin wrote about how hard you trained with him and the other knights, but farm work will build your muscles in other ways. Go ahead and take a break. I can finish the milking."

Link scowls a bit at the udder before him and then down into the bucket, it had about a glass full of milk in it. "I want to be helpful though. I don't want to just sit around. There has to be something I can do."

Dorin hums thoughtfully for a moment, "Well the cuccos need to have their eggs collected. There's a basket in the kitchen for them and you know where the coop is. Just throw down some feed before going in to pick out the eggs."

Link stands and goes to fetch the basket. He knew where the coop for the cuccos was as Dorin had shown him where it was so he could feed them, it was one of Zelda's chores and he felt he should do what he can while she was off saving everyone. He knew he wasn't the hero, he had known for a long time even. It didn't make it feel any better knowing that she was out there risking her life for his kingdom.

Link picks up the basket in the kitchen and makes his way to the cucco coop.

He had studied the legends. He knew that the hero and the princess were meant to be together. Most of the legends were romanticized with tales of gallant knights fighting to save their love. That meant the one he was destined to love was out there, fighting, and she hadn't spent a lifetime practicing swordplay and archery.

Links shoulders slump as he opens the bin for the cucco feed, shoveling out a few handfuls to draw the cuccos out from the coop.

She had that wooden practice sword and he knew she was fearless from Colin's stories, but this wasn't the same as life on a farm. It was war, it was life and death and pain and heartbreak.

"Why couldn't I have done this on my own?"

Cucco squawks at him in answer to his question. He looks down at the bird and sighs before heading into the coop and collecting the eggs.

Zelda stares in awe at the site before her. Zora's Domain is beautiful, blue stone shimmering in the bright sunlight. Arching buttress and sweeping pathways floating above a deep blue lake. She had heard stories from traders that came to town about the Zora's architecture, but they did not do it justice.

"We should hurry so we can get a room at the inn before we start looking for the temple."

"Right." Zelda follows after her brother as he makes his way down the path from the hill overlooking the domain toward a long bridge lined in buildings that lead to the series of platforms raised above the lake below the city.

"Have you been here before?"

"A few times. The prince had to come for diplomatic reasons a few times and as his guard we came with him. Most of what you see now is for the benefit of visitors, the Zora's actually make their homes in the walls and banks in the lake and reservoir. I believe they were negotiating with the King recently on expanding into Lake Hylia with a small group of Zoras and starting a town."

"That makes sense, it must be getting crowded here."

They had just reached the start of the bridge and began making their way across. Zelda couldn't help but look around at all the shops lining the bridge. There were restaurants and souvenir shops. All run by Zora. Closer to the main platforms they start to see inns and clothing shops and mixed in with it all were a few shops run by Hylians selling goods from the broader parts of Hyrule.

"Careful there sis or your eyes might just pop out of your head."

Zelda playfully punches Colin in the arm as they pass onto the first platform. "So, which inn are we staying at?"

Colin points to the next platform up and a regal structure built beside a sweeping staircase leading up to the tallest platform. "It's called the Royal Inn and it's the oldest inn in Zora's Domain." He points up to the tallest platform. "The king of the Zoras has his audience rooms up on the platform above the inn. We'll need to go see him while we are here. He may have news about what is happening near the castle."

"Are we going to have enough rupees to pay for even one room at the inn, it sounds like it would be expensive."

Colin pauses with his mouth open before shaking his head. "I just realized I've never had to worry about how much it cost. We always came as part of a diplomatic entourage and never actually had to pay while we were here." Colin scratches the back of his head. "Still, we should check there first, I at least am familiar with the owner."

"Meaning its someone we can trust?"

Colin gives his sister a small smile, "Yeah. I know this is hard,"

"It's not that. I just, I know we've been avoiding roads and most towns so we aren't found by the enemy. I get that. I'm worried though."

"Worried?"

"About the prince. He's back in the castle and who knows what that man is doing to him, right?"

Colin's smile turns into a frown and he stares ahead at where they are going. "It's not that I'm not worried as well, but the prince is resourceful and he's trained his whole life for this."

"It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself more than me, Colin." Zelda dances around in front of him, her hair swaying behind her in the loose braid she'd taken to keeping it in.

Sighing, Colin picks up his pace to the inn. "Maybe I am, but we should still try to stay out of the center of attention if at all possible. No point in drawing unwanted attention to ourselves."

"Have you found either of them yet!"

The bokoblin reporting to Ganondorf cowers under the glare of his master and shakes his head. "No, Sire. We've managed to get spies into Zora's Domain and Kara Kara City, but the Rito and Goron cities are harder to infiltrate. We are watching the roads leading into them though."

Ganondorf grinds his teeth at the news. The prince was most likely to seek asylum in the homes of his allies. Knowing this he had sent his minions out to watch over them and report back if the prince was spotted. It was less likely they would find the hero so easily, though he may attempt to recruit allies in the fight against him.

While Ganondorf is contemplating what else he can do to find the hero, or where he might have run off to, the door to the throne room is hastily pushed open. The evil king's eyes snap up to the intruder and glare.

"What is it?"

The bokoblin in the door cringes back. "Sire, we have received word that the hero was spotted in Zora's Domain."

Ganondorf's grin at the news causes both creatures in his presence to shiver. "Wonderful. I want him brought here immediately. Inform our people in the domain to act. I don't care about the state he's in as long as he is alive when he arrives."

"Yes, Sire."

Colin had managed to get them a room at the Royal Inn. Zelda was right to worry about the expense though. If Colin hadn't known the owner and been able to explain things to him they would have had to worry though. As it was though, news of the attack on Castletown had reached the domain and many were concerned about what was happening. Colin being one of the prince's personal knights had the innkeeper more than happy to give the two a room on the house. He even sent a messenger to the Zora king to arrange a meeting, for which Colin was thankful.

"We'll need to be ready to meet the king when the messenger returns."

Zelda hums in acknowledgement while sprawled out on one of the beds in their room.

"We should probably bathe before seeing him."

With a groan, Zelda sits up and narrows her eyes at Colin. "How can we both bathe before the messenger gets back though?"

Colin chuckles. "This inn has separate baths for men and women. If we're quick we can at least get most of the travel grime off before we need to see the king."

Zelda had perked up slightly at the idea and is already standing. "Fine, where to?" Despite her words there is a smile on her face and it's easy to see she's excited.

Colin waves for her to follow him and the two make their way down to the main floor of the inn and past the reception desk to a short hallway. He points to one door. "That's the women's bath, don't take too long, you can soak later after we meet the king. Just clean up a bit."

"Yeah, yeah, will do." She hurries through the door and into the women's bath.

Both siblings finish with their baths quickly and once out are soon met by the messenger that went to make arrangements for them to see the Zora king. They soon are standing before the king and Zelda is shocked at his size.

The king had to be around eight feet tall, with deep blue skin on his back and limbs. His front is creamy white and he has a crest shaped like a hammerhead shark and gold eyes set beneath it. His smile greets them with a jovial flare and Zelda can't help but feel impressed by his display.

"Ah, welcome Sir Colin. We have heard news of the attack on Castletown, I assume you are here on business from Prince Link?"

Colin hesitates before nodding. "I am. May I ask that we speak in private Your Majesty?" He glances around at the advisors scattered about the room with the guards.

"Hmm?" The king seems to consider the request for a moment. "Please leave us, it seems we have delicate matters to discuss with our guest." The advisors are soon shuffled out the door by the guards who then close the doors and presumably are standing right outside them to keep out any others that would think to interrupt.

"Now, what is so delicate that you wish to speak to me alone?" The king looks at Zelda, curious that Colin had kept her in the chamber with them, "Does it have to do with this girl and her possession of Prince Link's sword?"

"It does. My Lord sent me on a mission to find her when the castle came under attack."

"Ahah! So, she must be the Princess of Destiny then. Does she need somewhere safe to hide from those that attacked the castle?"

Colin cringes and Zelda has to stop herself from huffing.

"No, it seems that we were all mistaken about the prince. He was not the Legendary Hero, he is the, ah, Princess of Destiny. Zelda," Colin motions to his sister, "Is the Legendary Hero. My Lord sent me to find her and give her the Master Sword. He also asked that I guide her to several temples and shrines that house the power needed to seal the great evil away."

The king's eyes have gone wide at Colin's admission. "I see. That is certainly troubling. Where is Prince Link now?"

"The last I saw of him he was facing down the one that lead the forces against the castle. I believe he has been captured."

"Hmm? I have heard that the man that has taken control of the castle recently sent out many search parties. My people that I had keeping watch over the castle also reported a commotion within. If Prince Link has been captured, I would say he gave them quite the fight beforehand."

Zelda reaches for the hilt of her sword, but stills her hand. This wasn't the time or place to get upset about the prince being in danger.

"Those search parties are most likely for us, it's also likely that there are spies looking for us."

"Ah, so that is why you asked for this meeting to be private."

Colin nods, "Impa brought up while we were in Kakariko that our enemy may not know who the hero is. It's possible that since he saw me leave the castle with the Master Sword that he suspects I am."

"And it is safer for everyone if the enemy continues to believe that."

"Colin!"

"Zelda, I know you don't like that but I have been tasked with keeping you safe until you are strong enough to fight. Part of that means keeping who you are from our enemy."

Zelda grumbles under her breath to the amusement of the king before them.

"I feel there is something here I am not yet aware of."

Colin flushes slightly before nodding his head. "Zelda is my sister, she was on her way to visit me in Castletown when the attack happened."

"Hmm, so your protectiveness is not solely from your duty to the prince and your kingdom."

"No, Your Majesty."

The king chuckles and his deep voice reverberates through the room. "I understand, I understand. Now, you mentioned temples?"

"Yes, there is one in your domain that we need to visit, but we are not sure where it might be."

"Hmm, well there are ruins in the bottom of the reservoir. It was said that an ancient hero freed a beast there and now its remains lie in the reservoir." The king shakes his head after a moment's' thought, "But you would be hard pressed to swim down to them."

"Great, how are we supposed to do this then?" Colin fidgets in agitation at the obstacle before them.

"There may be a way for one of you to get down was said that heroes of the past had objects that allowed for them to breath underwater. If you were able to locate one of these items,"

"Then one of us could go down to the temple!" Colin looks over to Zelda after her excited outburst.

"Yes, though where they have gotten to over the centuries is hard to imagine. You would need to know where the heroes were buried or where they left their belongings. It is no easy task to locate these objects."

"Great, so where would they have left them." Colin mutters to himself, though Zelda must have heard him as she turns to look at him before addressing the king.

"Maybe one of the ancient heroes left them with the Zora of the time. Are there any zora ruins we could look in?"

The Zora king hums in thought for a moment. "I suppose the Old Zora Ruins could possible hold a clue. To get there you will need a guide though. Delfin is the one that found them while exploring down river. He should be able to lead you there."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Colin bows to the Zora king, Zelda hastily does the same when she notices her brother bowing.

"Think nothing of it. I will send Delfin to meet with you shortly."

As the two exit the chamber the many advisors and petitioners file back in to conclude their business with the king.


	13. Chapter 13

Hey, sorry this chapter took so long to post. My husband had a death in his family Sunday night and I haven't had the time to get on and post this chapter. Hopefully the next few chapters won't take as long to get out.

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Colin and Zelda wait by a statue in front of the inn they were staying in for Delfin to come. While waiting Zelda takes the time to look over the statue. It's of a young Zora woman holding a trident and Zelda gets the impression of sorrow from her expression.

"Her name is Mipha. She was one of four chosen champions that aided one of the legendary heroes of the past." Zelda turns to the voice to find a bluish green Zora standing near her and gazing up at the statue. He turns to smile at her before holding out his hand. "My name is Delfin, the king told me to show the two of you to the ruins of Old Zora's Domain."

Zelda smiles and takes his hand to shake it. "I'm Zelda, it's nice to meet you."

Colin walks up to them at that time and holds his hand out as well. "Colin." Delfin shakes his hand as well.

"I must say I'm rather excited to be able to show you the ruins. I hadn't thought that Hylians would have any interest in ancient Zoran history, especially given what's happened in Castletown."

"Yes, but the pursuit of knowledge may give us the edge over the evil that's attacked." Zelda's smile wavers a bit. "I mean, there could be something down there that could help the hero, right?"

"Of course! I've never had the opportunity to meet Prince Link, but if we can find something of use to him in this fight," Delfin grins broadly, his excitement clear.

"Yes, of course. So, we should probably get going, time is of the essence." Colin steps in and smiles kindly at the scholarly Zora.

"Oh, yes, yes. Let's get going then. We'll be head downriver to the waterfall just upstream from Inogo Bridge. The entrance had caved in millennia ago, but there is another way in near the top of the falls."

Colin nods and the group is soon on their way down river.

"The hero is leaving the domain."

"Now is our chance.

"Yes, but what of the two with him?"

"Kill them, Master doesn't need them."

The path leading up to the Domain makes many twists and turns, and while it does stay rather close at times to the river there are times when it sweeps out in order to avoid a difficult climb or obstacle. It's after going off to one side to get around the steep drop caused by a waterfall that Colin stops them at the mouth of a cavern-like canyon.

"The path goes through there?"

"Yes, it's the easiest route."

"Colin?"

"Is it possible to go along the rim rather than through?"

"Well yes, it is possible, but it's certainly more difficult."

"We can handle more difficult."

Zelda looks between their guide and her brother before looking back at the pass the path leads through. "You're worried about enemies taking advantage of the terrain, aren't you?"

"Enemies?" Delfin looks slightly nervous at hearing about potential dangers.

"Yes, we've been tasked with finding something that could aid the prince in his fight. It would make sense that our enemies would wish to stop us."

"Oh, I see. Then we should get off the road, there are other areas that are good points for an ambush. This road isn't exactly built with safety in mind."

"I'm beginning to see that."

Delfin leads them up a slight rise and then off in a seemingly random direction. "I've actually spent much of my life out here exploring for ruins, so I'm rather familiar with the terrain. If we want to avoid potential ambushes there is a much more direct way to the entrance than following the road."

Their pace slows down but soon they are at a large pond that empties into a small cave. In the center of the pond is a crumbling stone platform.

"I believe at one point this may have been a shrine of some sort but I can't find any markings to indicate one way or another." Delfin points to the small cave the water flows into. "That's the entrance to the ruins I found. The water is deep enough to swim or stand in."

Colin eyes the water with distaste before unstrapping his shield and sword to hold above his head as he wades into the water.

"Oh, stay near the edge, this pond gets rather deep quickly. The spring that feeds it is about fifty lengths down."

"Alright, let's get going then."

Delfin glides into the water as Zelda unbuckles the Master Sword, bow, and her own shield, holding them like Colin is doing as she follows after him. Delfin swims alongside them to help them stay where the water is shallow enough to walk in until they reach the cave. Stepping in Zelda notices that the edges seem more square than they did from a distance and the floor is more even. At waist height on one side is a ridge that may have at one point been a ledge or walkway.

"I believe this cave was carved out by Zoras long ago. As we go deeper you'll see carved columns that may have helped this tunnel from collapsing like the one under the waterfall. Still, watch your step as we go."

They go deeper and as they do the tunnel seems to widen out and the water grows shallower until they step out onto a ledge with a few inches of water rushing over it and into a pool below. The water also rushes down a set of curved and crumbling step that lead up to where they stand.

"There isn't much here."

"I know. I've attempted to date the age of these ruins and most of what I have managed between the style of the architecture that remains and looking into our own records is that this may have dated from the period of the Sage Ruto."

The group begins making their way down the staircase to the side of the ledge when Colin stops and looks back up the tunnel they came down.

"Colin?"

"Keep going." His voice is low, but he's already reattaching his sword and shield, prompting Zelda to do the same. "I thought I heard something in the tunnel."

At the bottom of the stairs is another ledge that is free of running water before leading off deeper into the cavern they are in. Two paths branch off, one dry and one leading the water away from the pool below where they came in.

"That way leads to another ledge with a tall drop." He points to the tunnel where the water is emptying through. "This way leads around and down safely, though the stairwell is a bit shaky in spots due to age."

"Lead the way. Zelda, I want you in the middle."

Zelda looks like she is going to argue but stops at the look her brother gives her. The small group continues on into the cavern. The tunnel they went through is short and when it opens back up there is a tall cavern with a sloping staircase curving around the outer edge and down to a broad ledge. Ruined structures are built on the ledge and it is easy to see that this would have been where visitors may have once been greeted. A waterfall to the side of their tunnel splashes down into a deep blue pool that dominates the floor of the area before dumping out through another tunnel across the cavern.

"Oh, wow. This place is huge."

"I know, it's wonderful isn't it. "I've barely had time to explore it though. Silt has built up the bottom of the pool over the years and there's no telling how deep it may have once been."

"Where does the water drain out through?"

"Oh, behind that waterfall up from Inogo Bridge. The tunnel is blocked off by large boulders, but there are enough cracks that the water isn't hindered. It's just impassable to anything larger than a small fish."

"Alright, so if someone were to have hidden something down here, where would that be?"

"Hmm? Well to be honest there are many nooks and crannies that could have had something stashed in them. And if my hunch is correct about the silt build up there could be even more buried in the walls of the cavern below the surface. It could take weeks just to dig out some of them."

Colin groans and Zelda looks the area over with a disheartened look. "We don't have weeks."

All three stop at the bottom of the staircase when they hear splashing coming from above them. Looking up shows two men standing on the ledge with the waterfall, swords in hand. Both groups stare at one another for a long moment before one of the men is reaching for a bow on his back and Colin is pushing Zelda and Delfin behind the cover of a crumbling wall.

"Zelda, bow." Colin holds his hand out for the bow Zelda had been carrying just as an arrow whizzes past their hiding spot. Zelda takes the bow from her back and hands it and the quiver to Colin. They all hear the clamor of boots on stone as the second man seems to have gone around and was now making his way down the crumbling staircase.

Zelda seeing this unsheathes the Master Sword and prepares to meet the man coming down the stairs, but Colin stops her.

"We still have the bowman up top. Don't just go running out there."

Zelda nods, but stays tensed to spring into action, suddenly she was glad to have had to fight monsters in that first temple. This at least wasn't her first fight. The same confidence could not be said about Delfin. The Zoran scholar was huddled up into as small a ball as he could make himself and was clearly doing everything in his power to stay out of the way.

Colin takes a deep breath as he notches an arrow before standing up and taking aim at the man standing atop the waterfall. He lets fly an arrow just as on strikes his side. He grunts from the impact, but his chainmail manages to hold and the arrow is unable to puncture it. His arrow though manages to strike the man at the top of the waterfall, causing him to stumble and fall over the edge.

"Zelda, go!" With Colin's prompting Zelda charges to the end of the staircase just as the other man makes it to the bottom. The two face off, Zelda with her sword and shield held ready and her opponent with just a sword.

"The hero sends a little girl to fight his battles for him, coward." The man spits to the side, clear disgust on his face. Zelda doesn't jump at the baiting though, simply narrowing her eyes. The man lounges with his sword, his actions sloppy from overconfidence. Zelda raises her shield ducking her head behind it as his sword comes down. When the two impact she pushes her right arm out before bringing the Master Sword around and cutting the man across the belly.

"Wha, what?" He stumbles back, his sword dropping to the ground as he clutches at his wound. "How?" Blood begins to dribble from his lips as blood pools around his knees from the wound in his gut.

Zelda takes a step back at the site. All the monsters in the temple had dissolved once she had beaten them. Her eyes meet those of the man kneeling before her as he tumbles onto his side, his body stilling though his eyes stay wide in shock. The Master Sword clatters to the ground drawing Colin's attention to her.

"Zelda?" Colin steps over to his sister, hands gripping her shoulders. "Zelda, look at me." He turns her, a hand going to her chin to redirect her gaze off the corpse. "It's alright, just breath and focus on me." Zelda's eyes turn to him and he suddenly is reminded that this is his little sister who grew up on a farm. She wasn't a warrior even if she could handle herself in a fight. She had told him of the monsters she had faced in the temple and he had thought she could handle this.

"Colin." Her voice is small and he begins to feel her shaking under him. He pulls her into a tight hug, rubbing her back and soothing her.

"It's okay, everything's alright. Let's get you over to Delfin. You can rest there before we start looking for that item the former hero used. Does that sound good?"

She nods her head and he leads her over to Delfin, who has relaxed slightly now that both attackers seem to have been dealt with.

"Delfin, can you keep an eye on Zelda while I," He motions to the dead body.

"Oh, yes. I can do that. Um, they should be out of site if you take them over there." Delfin motions to a structure that is still mostly intact. "I've looked that area over and it seems to have been a shop at one point. It's not likely to have what you're looking for in it."

Colin nods, watching as Zelda pulls her knees up to her chest. He sets his sword and shield down beside her before going over to the body of the man she had killed. He frowns down at it before bending over to grab the corpse's wrists, dragging it toward the structure Delfin had pointed him toward. Inside it does appear to be some sort of shop, though now in ruined disrepair. Dragging the body in fully he looks around and finds a few rags and grabs them up. He strides out and kneels at the edge of the pool, soaking the rags and then walking over to the Master Sword. Taking care, he wipes it clean and carries it back to Zelda.

"You need to keep this close." He holds it out to her and she takes it from him without hesitation and then sheathes it.

He watches her for a moment before going back to cleaning things up. With the rags, he is able to wipe away most of the blood on the ground before jumping into the water to grab the body of the other attacker. His arrow hadn't struck a fatal location, but the fall had finished the job. The shaft of the arrow was broken as well as the man's neck. It takes some effort but the bod is soon up on the dry ground and Colin is carrying it over to join the other.

Work complete he walks over to where Zelda and Delfin are sitting and plops himself down beside Zelda. "It helps to talk about it."

Zelda blinks and looks up at him. "The monsters in the temple didn't stare at me like that. They didn't bleed. They just disappeared."

Colin wraps an arm around his sister's shoulders and pulls her into him. "I'm sorry, I should have realized. But I need you to also realize that this isn't going to be a one-time thing. You are going to have to defend yourself and sometimes that will mean killing. It's not wrong, even if it's not ideal."

"Have you ever,"

"Yes." Colin looks off in front of them, staring at a broken wall. "I've had to kill. I am a knight and I serve the prince. We've been sent out to deal with bandits and that can get messy."

"You're tiptoeing." Zelda has managed a small smile at Colin's mincing of words and trying to avoid flat out saying what she knows needs said. Colin felt that was a positive sign.

Beside them Delfin was watching the pair with a certain level of curiosity. Now that Zelda seemed to have been calmed down some he felt the need ask about something the one attacker had brought up.

"Um, excuse me. I hope I'm not overstepping, but the one man had said something about the hero making Zelda fight for him."

The siblings both look at Delfin with wide eyes.

"It's just he sounded like he was talking directly to you Colin and if they think you're the hero and not the prince, well you can see why I might be confused."

"Actually, I'm not the hero, but I'm not going to correct the enemy if they think I am."

"But what of the prince? If he is not the hero, then who is?"

Zelda timidly raises her hand, smiling sheepishly at Delfin. "That would be me."

"It's true, but you can't tell anyone."

"That's why you were concerned about an ambush on the road, isn't it?"

"It is. We've managed to keep a low profile, but coming into Zora's Domain may have revealed u to enemy spies." He makes a motion in the general direction of where the bodies of their attackers had been stowed. "I can't say my paranoia is unfounded after that attack. We also have no idea if that will be the last of them."

"So, we will need to hurry then." Delfin stands up and makes his way to the water's edge. "I will search for any hidden crevasses under water or any sign of something being down there. The two of you can search up here to see if you find anything."

"Right." Colin stand as Delfin dives into the water to begin his search. "Up you go Sis, we need to get moving and start looking for anything that might help you breath under water."

Zelda takes Colin's outstretched hand and with his help manages to pull herself up to her feet. "Yeah, let's go."

All three begin to search through the ruins, eventually though Colin manages to find a well-hidden side passage.

"I think I may have found something."

Zelda reaches him first and Delfin is soon jogging over from the water. All three inspect the small tunnel, and it was small.

"I don't think either one of you is going to fit in there." The tunnel entrance had been hidden behind a few pots that had somehow survived the millennia down here intact, which meant the hole that Colin had found leading into the tunnel was big enough for a dog or a similarly sized animal to walk through but anyone else would need to crawl.

"Zelda, you're the smallest here."

She looks at the tunnel and then gets down on all fours before crawling her way in. It's a snug fit, her shoulders brushing the walls and her back the ceiling. She's suddenly glad she isn't claustrophobic as the tunnel is long as well. After several minutes of crawling she comes out into a larger space lit by lumos stones with a chest in the middle. The chest is rusty and looks like it may have seen better days, the lock on it matching the appearance. Taking her shield, she slams it into the lock causing it to bend and warp, a second slam of the shield and the lock falls to the floor of the cavern. Bending closer she slowly opens the chest and inside finds a blue tunic folded neatly and covered in some kind of scales.

She reaches in and pulls it out. Its heavy. A separate piece tumbles out and back into the chest. She reaches in and it's a hat similar to the one that had been with the tunic she was wearing when she had gotten it back in Kakariko.

"I wonder how this is supposed to help me breath underwater? If it even does."

It was at that moment she notices a slip of oiled parchment in the bottom of the chest. Picking it up she reads through it.

'To a future hero. This is a Zora's tunic, made of the scales of fallen Zora warriors and blah blah blah. I figured if I'm leaving this I should at least take the time to tell you how it works. There is a part of the collar that pulls up over your nose and mouth and filters the water through some form of weird magicky stuff I don't understand and science stuff I really don't understand. Good luck on your journey and I hope whoever's acting as your companion isn't some bossy imp that treats you like her personal plaything. Sincerely the Hero of Twilight.'

Zelda blinks at the letter then looks over the tunic. She sees the collar that the former hero refers to in his letter. "Well at least that was helpful. Really glad I have Colin with me if the alternative is an imp."

Zelda slips the tunic over the one she's wearing and folds the letter before tucking it under the hat as she puts it on. Then it's back on all fours to crawl out of the tunnel.


	14. Chapter 14

Colin and Delfin stand watch outside the tunnel that Zelda had crawled into. After a while they hear the sound of someone shuffling their way through the tunnel and then Zelda is poking her head out, soon followed by the rest of her. Colin takes in the new clothes she's wearing with a raised eyebrow, especially at the hat.

"You didn't wear the hat Impa had with the tunic she gave you, but you wear this one?"

Zelda scowls up at him before standing up, still not reaching his height and having to keep looking up. "It completes the armor set and I don't know if I have to wear it for the enchantments to work."

Colin takes the time to look the full outfit over now that Zelda is standing and he realizes she's practically swimming in this new tunic. He could make out that she had just put it on over her previous tunic and even left her chainmail shirt on. It made him realize for the first time, just how small his sister was compared to the previous heroes. That is, assuming this tunic did belong to one of them.

"It belonged to the Hero of Twilight."

"Oh, how do you figure that?" Delfin must have asked about the tunic, and Colin notes he seems more excited about anything Zelda can tell him than anything else at the moment.

Zelda reaches under the hat and pulls out a piece of oiled parchment. "He left a letter with instructions on how it works."

"Really! That's amazing. Do you mind?" Zelda hands the scholar the letter before turning to Colin.

"Should we head back to the Domain?"

"Yeah. It's getting late. We'll need to tell the King about those two that attacked us, he'll want to add security around the Domain."

It takes them an hour to get back to the Domain as they made sure to avoid the road, skirting alongside it and taking shortcuts. Delfin volunteers to inform the king of the results of their mission, but Colin insists on going with him.

"Zelda, you should go to the room and rest. Tomorrow we should be going to the temple ruins at the bottom of the reservoir."

"Oh, no one's been able to get into those. They're clear to see, but are sealed tight."

"I don't suppose you know a way in?" Zelda grins at Delfin who looks around sheepishly at the idea that he knew how to get into ruins that no one else was able to.

"Well, I may have been able to get into the first part of them, but I couldn't figure out how to get to the rest of it. You may have better luck though, since well, yes?"

Colin has to give Delfin credit, he at least knew to be discrete about Zelda's role.

"I'll be there shortly Zelda, just wait in the room for me."

"Nope, I think I'm going to enjoy the baths and relax for a bit." She grins at Colin, but he just sighs in exasperation at her idea.

"Try not to take too long in there at least."

"Can do." Zelda jogs off to the inn they are staying at while Delfin and Colin make their way up to the king to tell him about the attack.

"I know you're worried about her, but you can't protect her from everything."

Colin looks over to Delfin and frowns. "I know, it doesn't stop me from trying though."

Delfin smiles. "She's lucky to have a brother like you tagging along."

At Colin's raised eyebrow he continues. "Well it's just, that letter said the previous one had an imp that tried bossing him around as a companion, you at least have her best interests in mind. Even if you are overprotective about it at times."

Colin grins at Delfin. "That may be so, but I'm still trying to let her do what she needs to do. Even if everything about the situation is screaming at me to keep her out of this."

Back in the Inn Zelda is in the room Colin had rented for them looking over the Zora tunic that the Hero of Twilight had left for her. She wondered if any other heroes had left things for her, or well, future heroes at least.

"Hmm, too bad I don't have any clues on where I might find other gear."

Setting the tunic aside she heads out of the room and down to the baths. Arriving there she notices that there is another person already there. Thinking nothing of it she strips out of her tunic and mail shirt before easing into the large basin.

"You look like you've had a rough day?"

Zelda turns to face the other woman in the bath and nods. "Yeah, my brother and I were exploring some ruins nearby. It was exhausting."

"Oh? That sounds interesting. Why were you there?"

Zelda feels that something about this isn't right, so falling back on the excuses she used in Hateno City, she lies. "We're researchers from Hateno Research Institute. We're curious about the architecture of the ancient Zoras."

"Oh?" The woman seems less eager to talk all of a sudden and Zelda let's herself relax slightly. "Did you find anything interesting?"

She hesitates in answering. "Well there wasn't really anything we didn't know before. I think our professor just sent us here as busy work."

The woman's interest seemed to have picked up again, and Zelda isn't sure how to redirect it.

"Hmm, sounds like you should try again."

"We will, we're planning to go back tomorrow." Zelda knew that wasn't true, but if this woman was with those two that attacked them, then telling her they'll be back in the ruins tomorrow means she'll know where they are and it won't be where she and Colin will actually be.

"I hope you have better luck tomorrow then." The woman stands and makes her way out of the bath, leaving Zelda sitting there and feeling cold despite the warm temperature of the water.

After several minutes, she stands and gets out herself and heads back to the room she and Colin are sharing. She's only a little surprised that she beat Colin back, even if she did cut her bath short. She settles on her bed and begins looking around. The tunic is wear she left it, but she notices that other things have been moved. Had someone been in their room? She looks down at the tunic before picking it up and slipping it on over her purple one. The weight presses on her, but it's more comforting than a hindrance.

She was just finishing adjusting the belts on the tunic when the door opens and she reaches for the Master Sword, ready to draw it if the person coming in was an enemy.

"Woah, hey it's just me." Colin holds his hands up in a sign of peace when he sees how tense Zelda is. "Is everything alright?"

Zelda relaxes her grip on her sword and sets it beside her. "I think I ran into one of the spies during my bath. She seemed overly interested in what we were doing. I don't know, maybe I'm just being paranoid."

"Did she do anything to you?" Colin moves to sit beside his sister, arm around her shoulders.

"No, but I told her we would be back at the ruins tomorrow."

"Hmm, well we aren't going to be, but I should let the Zora king know so he can set guards at the ruins." Colin stands to leave and Zelda grabs the hem of his tunic. Colin turns back to look at her. "Do you want to come with me?"

She shakes her head. "No, it's just. I think someone searched our room while we were gone, Maybe I should find us somewhere else to stay."

Colin nods slowly before a slight panic overtakes his features and he bolts for his saddlebag. Pulling it out he looks through it for the book the prince had left him. He sighs in relief when he finds it. "It looks like they didn't take the prince's journal." He takes a quick look through his bag once more though and realizes the map he had marked is missing. "But they took the map with the other two temples marked on it."

"That's not good, is it?"

Colin shakes his head. "No, I can get a new map easily, but they now know where the two temples are that the prince asked us to go to. I hadn't marked the smaller ones yet since I don't know their exact locations, or well I didn't when I was marking the map at least."

"So, we have to be more careful when we head to the temples with the other two guardians? We were already going to be more careful after what happened earlier though."

"Yeah, I had better hurry and let the king know about the spies and that they will most likely try to ambush us in the morning. I want you to pack our bags and meet me on the Eastern bridge that leads up to the reservoir. I don't feel we should wait till morning. We need to go to those ruins tonight so we can get out of the domain before that information can make it back to our enemy."

Zelda nods and begins moving around and getting their things packed while Colin rushes out to give this information to the Zora king. Bags packed Zelda slings the Master Sword and her shield onto her back and shoulders the saddlebags before slipping out into the hall. She looks around before making her way down and out of the inn, trying to not draw attention to herself as she leaves.

She makes her way over to the bridge where she is supposed to meet Colin and she just knows she's standing out to anyone that might be looking. She settles herself at the midway point on the bridge just as the lights begin to come on. Looking to the sky she realizes that the sun must have just set. Leaning back, she takes note of the guard at the end of the bridge watching her, but since he's a Zora she's not as worried that he might be with the ones trying to take over Hyrule.

After an hour of waiting she hears footsteps coming toward her and reaches for her sword.

"It's just me Zelda."

"Colin." She turns toward him fully and sees him carrying a few extra pieces of equipment, namely a shield and spear. "The Zora king sent us with some parting gifts and Delfin should be here shortly to show you the way into the temple." Colin sets the new shield down and leans the spear against the railing. "Hand me your shield, you'll want the Zora shield with you while you're down there. Its designed to be used in the water so it won't be damaged over time from exposure like the Hylian shield you have now." Zelda removes the Hylian shield and hands it to Colin before taking the Zora shield and putting it on her back in its place.

"You're also going to take this Zora spear. It's made of the same material as the shield so it won't be damaged by water. Also, how it's used is similar to a pitchfork and shoveling out a stable, I figured you'd be able to figure it out more easily than a sword underwater."

Zelda takes the spear from him. "Thanks."

"Sorry, I took so long." Delfin runs up to them as Zelda leans the spear on her shoulder.

"It's alright Delfin, we should get moving. The faster we get up there the more time we have before we're found out." Colin begins heading the rest of the way across the bridge with Zelda and Delfin following close behind. All three nod to the guard on duty before making their way up the stairs that lead to the reservoir.

"Delfin, what are the chances of the dock up here being deserted?"

"Hmm, well at this time there won't be many tourists, but several Zora couples use the dock as a romantic location due to the view it affords of the night sky."

"So, there will be others around, but mostly Zora couples?"

"Yes."

"That works out in my favor at least, I was concerned about being up there alone while the two of you were down at the temple."

"Oh, I suppose if they think you're the one they're after they would wait for you to be alone rather than attack you in a crowd. I'll come back up though as soon as I show Zelda the entrance."

"I have to go in alone!"

"Have heart, I doubt there is anything dangerous in there."

Zelda slumps thinking back to the last temple she had gone to. "I'm more worried about the traps I ran into in the last temple and if there might be similar traps here. They were a pain."

Colin grins as they reach the top of the stairs to the reservoir. "I'm sure they couldn't have been that bad, you made it through."

"Jerk." Zelda punches her brother in the shoulder before looking out over the reservoir lake. It really is a beautiful sight. The water is calm and reflects the stars as they come out above and she's sure that if the moon were out it would be just as stunning. Looking around she takes note of several couples cuddling together around the space and is glad that at the very least this is not a good place for an ambush, too many witnesses.

"Alright, you two had best make your way down. I'll wait for you up here."

Zelda nods and pulls the collar scarf up over her nose and mouth as the letter had told her to do. It didn't feel all that different breathing through the fabric. She checks that she has the silly hat on before easing herself down into the water. Delfin jumps in beside her and the two turn to Colin. He waves at them.

"Go, I'll be fine."

"Right. Come along then, we should make haste." Delfin dives down below the surface and Zelda braces herself as she follows suit. At first her instincts tell her to hold her breath and she does. Delfin takes her hand gently and stops her when he realizes she has squeezed her eyes closed. Gently he pats her cheek, prompting her to open her eyes.

"I know that this will be strange for you, but please try to relax and breath naturally. If something goes wrong, I am here and I will get you to the surface before you get hurt. I feel we should test this tunic though before we go too deep."

Zelda nods, she was surprised when she opened her eyes that they weren't stinging like they would back home when she swam in the swimming hole at the far end of the farm. The next thing she notices is that the water here is so clear. She can see lumos lamps leading all around the walls of the reservoir and assumes they must be there for the citizens whose homes are carved into the walls here. After several minutes, she remembers she should breath normally when the burn in her lungs becomes noticeable. She almost panics but focuses on Delfin and just let's herself breath. Her first breath is humid and feels like breathing in a thick fog. There is air, but also water. It is strange and takes a moment for her to get used to it. Once she is calm and breathing steadily she nods to Delfin.

"Are you ready then?"

Another nod and Delfin leads her down into the reservoir. They make their way to the dark center, far from the light and the surface. She notices her guide reach into his belt pouch and pull out a small handheld lumos lamp. The area around them lights up in the soft glow from the precious stone.

The deeper they go the more isolated Zelda begins to feel, and after several long minutes they see a shape looming out of the darkness. A ridged pillar comes into full view. Zelda takes note that it seems that it may have been articulated at one point from the way the top curves slightly into a hook. Heading down further Delfin leads Zelda through the ruins of some strange temple. Parts of it feel like they once made a shape, but what that shape was she couldn't tell in the dim lighting provided by the small lamp Delfin carries.

They soon come upon a curved jutting of stone that looks as though it may have once been a platform but was now tilted on its side and lead into a wall mostly buried in the silt of the reservoir lakebed.

"This is the entrance I've managed to get open, but there is another door just inside it." Delfin reaches into his pouch and pulls out another lumos lamp and hands it to Zelda. "You will want that, I can't imagine there is much if any light in there. Also, "He reaches into his pouch again and pulls out a coil of string. Swimming over he attaches one end to her belt and the other around a part of the stone platform. "I've found from experience when exploring ruins, especially those submerged or underground that it is best to have a way to find your way back out." He hands her the bundle of string. "This should help you find the exit and keep you from getting lost. I hope it's long enough."

Unable to speak, Zelda nods before swimming forward and down into the temple entrance. Delfin watches her go before swimming back to the surface.

Zelda swims down into the entrance and looks around. The space is rather large, larger than it looks like it would have been from outside. To her left is a small barred door in the middle of a wall with a walkway or ramp leading up to it on what might have once been the floor but was now behind her more than below. To the right was another barred door and looking in front of her she can make out what looks like the edges of a large waterwheel.

Thinking it best to explore where she can see, Zelda swims toward the waterwheel and finds that one of the spokes has another door on it that is barred shut. Not seeing anything of any use here she moves on and begins to explore the area.

She isn't sure how long she spent swimming around, but for as large as the space seemed, it was only the two barred off doors to either side of the first room that she found she couldn't access. One she was able to see most of by holding her lamp through the bars and peaking in. The room only had a single structure that had fallen over and now lay in pieces at the bottom side of the room. Nothing really of note there.

It was the other room she really wanted to get into. She wasn't even sure it was just one room, she felt it might lead deeper into the temple and down to where she would find the power she needed to unlock to gain Naydra's help in sealing the evil man at the castle. The only thing was, how was she meant to open this door and get into that room.

Looking around the area she finds a large wheel mounted to one wall below the barred door. She pushes at it and tries to turn it, but it's stuck. Growing frustrated she looks around, there has to be something around here that can help her get that door open.

Taking another look around she notices a part of the floor in the area above the room she's trying to get into has crumbled. Looking at it, it looks like something heavy had fallen and cracked the floor, over time the crack had worn away and grown bigger but was still blocked off by the debris that laid on top of it.

Seeing no other options Zelda begins pushing, pulling and lifting the debris away. To her it was similar to when she helped to plow the fields back home and they found large rocks that needed to be removed. After a while the hole was revealed enough that if her shield and sword were not on her back she could squeeze through.

She takes a moment to unhook them from her back and then looks at them. She couldn't take all three items with her. The sword and shield also wouldn't do much good down here if she did run into anything. She looks at the spear before taking the Master Sword and her shield and tucking them into a safe spot near the hole she was going through.

Spear in hand she swims into the tight space and is soon popping out into a large room with a large bulb shaped pillar canted toward the ground. Swimming around she's surprised to find that there are no other rooms or doors branching off this one other than the one to the main chamber.

Exploring the area reveals that the bulb shaped pillar is actually hollow. A crack in the side, just big enough for her arm to reach through shows this and inside she finds a broken medallion with the mark for Nayru on it. Brushing off the debris and algae that built up on it she sees its made of a bright blue material. The jagged, broken edge of the medallion looks as if it had been deliberately broken. Near one end is a loop that looks as if a string or chain could have been threaded through it to hang it around one's neck.

Zelda thinks about this object and that there is another temple. If this medallion is one of two halves, then putting them together would unlock the sealing power she needs.

She pockets the half she just found and swims up and out of the hole, grabbing her sword and shield before making her way back to the surface.


End file.
